The Gadgets Page

While Mike and I were at SXSW in Austin, Texas, we stayed at the Austin Hilton Hotel right next to the conference. It’s the first time we’ve stayed at a Hilton Hotel since they have added the MP3 Player Clock Radio. I had heard about it, but I had never seen it.

It’s not like it’s a product that you can go into a store and buy, but I thought I would play with it during my stay. I wanted to see if it was easy to use. I wanted to know if the buttons really did what they said they did. I was curious about it because I had heard so much about it.

Do the buttons really do what they say they will do?

The clock radio has buttons on the top labeled classical, country, rock, jazz and MP3 respectively. I tried them all and each button actually played the genre of music that they were labeled with. I don’t know if that means that some employee had to program the radio stations for each of the buttons, but they DID work. The classical and jazz radio stations were really faint and static filled, but they played the music that the buttons advertised.

I tested the MP3 button with my Treo 650. It easily connects to any MP3 player with its headphone jack that sticks unceremoniously out the back. It doesn’t control the MP3 player, but it does amplify the music (or SXSW podcasts) loud enough to hear throughout the room. Unfortunately, you couldn’t set it to wake you up with the music on your MP3 player.

How does it sound?

If you’re an audiophile, you wouldn’t ask that question because you’d assume that it sounds like crap. So, if you want to know how it sounds, I have to give it a passing grade. It will make your music loud enough for everyone in the room (and even in the next room over) to hear. There is hardly any stereo separation. I tested it with Shellshock by New Order because I played that song so much as a teenager that I have memorized each moment in the song where it plays on one ear or the other. Unfortunately, it didn’t sound as good on this player as it does when I’m wearing headphones. It sounds better than mono, though.

The Hilton Hotel MP3 Player is a pretty cool machine. It looks like a normal clock radio, but if you want to jam out to your tunes without ear buds, it helps you out. Now, you don’t have to pack speakers in your luggage so that everyone can enjoy the music.

I enjoy the kind of aromatherapy oils that you burn with a tea light candle, but I am continually scared of setting the house of fire by forgetting to blow out the candle or just leaving it unattended. This device uses the electrical current in your USB port to heat the oil and scent your home.

• USBGEEK.COM – USB Fragrant Oil Burner

For $19 you can add the scent of lavender, orange or patchouli to your home with the use of your favorite oils. This is such a product for hippies and geeks alike. I am strangely tempted by it, despite my overloaded USB ports.

Via: Gear Live | USB Fragrance Oil Burner

“You know everyone is talking about that new Canon DSLR. I mean EVERYONE.”

“So?”

“So, it’s not all that great. I don’t understand why they keep talking about it.”

“It’s a little bit better than the Canon 20D.”

“But it doesn’t even have anti-shake like our Panasonics do. I can’t wait until Panasonic comes out with a DSLR.”

“Why?”

“Because it will take the picture when I push the freakin’ button.”

“The problem isn’t the delay after you push the button. The problem is the preview that you see on the LCD screen is delayed. It helps if you frame your picture with the LCD screen, but then watch what you’re taking a picture of. That’s how I got those good shots of that scrub jay.”

“I can’t wait until Panasonic invents a LCD preview screen that fortells the future…”

Well, Panasonic hasn’t quite done that, but they have finally dipped their toes into the DSLR pond.

• Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-L1, first DSLR – Engadget

“What would you want a big camera like a DSLR for anyway? Most of the time, you take pictures of what you see when you aren’t out on a photography trip, so you use your little Panasonic in your purse. You wouldn’t be able to carry a DSLR around with you and an 8X zoom on a camera like that would be this big.”

He held his fingers out far too wide to fit in my small purse. He’s right. I’ll stick with my Panasonic until something better at the same size or smaller comes along.

I have a pair of house slippers with this logo printed on them. They were a free giveaway at InterOp, a networking computer convention that Mike and I used to attend every year. I’ve had them for at least five years, so imagine my surprise when I looked up the website and found out that Dolphin Peripherals still exist.

• Dolphin Peripherals

So many companies died horrible deaths after the Dot Bomb that I am pleasantly surprised that some of them were able to sustain themselves through those hard times. Sure, Dolphin Peripherals is a hardware company, but the entire industry was paralyzed for years. I’m glad to see that these little guys survived.

Unfortunately, you cannot purchase Dolphin’s products directly from them, you have to go to a retailer: Where To Buy Dolphin Products. It’s a shame really, because their 5-in-1 USB MediaDrive looked pretty cool (although 5 is stretching it a bit, a repeat button isn’t quite cool enough to warrant an actual feature alongside voice recorder, FM tuner, MP3 Player and USB storage device).

I’m just glad to see another little company has survived the hard times that we had and I’m hoping they are able to weather anything that comes their way.

The Brookstone Sound Therapy Eye Mask looks like a good idea at first glance. Not only does it block out the light in the room when you are sleeping but your partner isn’t, it will block out the noise for you by playing nature sounds or connecting to your MP3 player and playing music. The 30-minute automatic shut off ensures that you won’t be startled awake when your music player finishes playing the soothing sounds of Brahms and moves on to your Metallica collection.

Usually when it comes to items from Brookstone, it’s the price that sends me packing, but at $40, I’ve paid more for headphones before, so the price didn’t scare me away. What scared me away was this phrase:

Uses an AC adapter (included) or 3 AAA batteries (not included).

I forgot that there would be circuitry in there. Sure, that’s essential when you’re talking about nature sounds or headphone jacks. The question that came to my mind was, “How am I going to wash that thing?” Anyone who has owned an eye mask knows that they start to smell a little funky after awhile and need a good washing frequently. With all that circuitry, I fear that I would eventually stop using this very expensive and plush eye mask because it would start to smell.

That’s a shame because I was actually excited about this product. Maybe the next version will have a REMOVEABLE soft velour covering.

Via: Shiny Shiny – Sound Therapy Eye Mask

This movie made me smile and laugh with it’s beautiful simplicity. Why aren’t they showing things like this at Sundance?

There are rumors flying around about a new widescreen video iPod with touchscreen controls. Here are a couple links to the rumors:

• More New iPod Video Pictures – The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

• Apple still at work on true video iPod? – Engadget

• Gear Live | Widescreen iPod Video Mock Up

I am hoping that Apple has raised their sites a little higher than just a larger screen for media playback. With a touchscreen, this new device could be the resurrection of the Newton Message Pad. When I first saw the Newton, it was at Comdex in the form of a plastic mockup under plexiglass while Douglas Adams talked on the big screen about writing everywhere. The next year, they had Newtons for us to play with. Chuck bought a Newton that year and chose his coats based on whether the Newton would fit in the inside breast pocket.

Today, Apple has the capability to bring back the Newton and wipe Palm and Windows Mobile off the face of the planet. It’s the only PDA that I would conceive of purchasing to replace my Treo. Apple has been very tightlipped about their “Tablet” patents. The widescreen video iPod could be so much more than merely a media playback device. If they add the capability of schedule, memos, book reader, and a to-do list, this device could be the return of the Apple Newton.

I eagerly await to see what will develop.

Chicago is gearing up to provide wireless Internet access to the entire city, all 228 square miles of it.

• Happy News – Chicago gears up for wireless broadband – by Dave Carpenter with Associated Press

I remember feeling so jealous of San Francisco when I heard that they were adopting a city-wide wireless network, but now, I’m just feeling angry that Salt Lake City is being left behind in the wireless update. Right now, I can hop onto one of many open wireless access points in our neighborhood, but having Internet provided by the city is a whole different ball game.

Congratulations to Chicago for actively joining the Wi-Fi World. Now, I’m just waiting for my hometown to get with the program.

When I bought these Good Cook measuring spoons several years ago, I thought they were a blessing. Instead of searching for the exact right measuring spoon, this one was always the right one because it was adjustable. It didn’t take me long to realize that this meant I had to wash the stupid thing several times while creating one recipe because I would need it for more than one ingredient.

I worried that these adjustable spoons wouldn’t work with liquid measurements like vanilla extract, but they work like a dream. I thought the vanilla would seep under the sliding adjuster and make the measurement off, but I haven’t had that trouble because I hold the spoon on the adjuster and put a little pressure on it to make sure liquid doesn’t get under it. I’ve never had a problem.

It looks like adjustable measuring spoons are getting so popular now that they come in fancy chrome designs like these Pro Adjustable Measuring Spoons. I don’t really feel the need to display my cooking utensils, so these wouldn’t really work for me any better than the less expensive ones from Good Cook, but they sure are pretty. I cringe when I think about trying to clean peanut butter out of them, though. For some things, the old measuring spoons are better.

They both come with remote controls and they both claim to be your media maven of the living room that will replace your stereo, VCR, DVD Player and all those photo albums on the bookshelf in the corner. How do they really compare to each other?

• Apple – Mac mini – Front Row

VERSUS

• HP Pavilion Media Center TV PCs

Price:
Mac Mini: $799
HP Media Center PC: $899
Verdict: Mac

Processor:
Mac Mini: 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo
HP Media Center PC: Intel(R) Pentium(R) D 920 (2.8GHz, 800MHz FSB)
Verdict: Media Center PC

Memory:
Mac Mini: 512MB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300)
HP Media Center PC: 1024MB DDR2-533MHz(2×512)
Verdict: Media Center PC

Hard Drive:
Mac Mini: 80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA
HP Media Center PC: 80GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s & NCQ
Verdict: Tie

Video Card:
Mac Mini: Intel GMA950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
HP Media Center PC: NVIDIA GeForce 6200se 64MB
Verdict: Tie

DVD Drive:
Mac Mini: Slot-loading SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
HP Media Center PC: 48x max. combo drive (DVD+/-R/RW )
Verdict: Unknown because the Mac Mini doesn’t have a writing speed listed.

Networking:
Mac Mini: Built-in wireless networking, Bluetooth and ethernet port (10/100/1000BASE-T)
HP Media Center PC: None built-in (must pay extra for LAN or wireless)
Verdict: Mac

Software:
Mac Mini: Operating System – Max OS X (v. 10.4), Pre-loaded with Apple software such as Front Row, Garage Band, iLife ‘06, iTunes, iDVD, Safari and others.
HP Media Center PC: Operating System – Windows XP Media Center, Pre-loaded with Microsoft software such as Microsoft(R) Works 8.0/Money 2006/MSN Encarta Plus
Verdict: Mac

Additional Features:
Mac Mini: Firewire port for the iPod, 4 USB ports, built-in speakers
HP Media Center PC: keyboard, mouse, 160GB Personal Media Drive, 9-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB ports on the front (plus 2 more on the back of the unit), external HP speakers, and Single NTSC TV Tuner with PVR and FM Tuner (so you can record your favorite television shows on the PC)
Verdict: Media Center PC

Design:
Mac Mini: Small and compact. Simple remote. Takes minimal space next to the television.
HP Media Center PC: Shaped just like a normal PC, which makes it awkward in the living room. Huge, complicated remote control.
Verdict: Mac

So, what is the verdict? Who wins in the Media Center PC vs. Mac Mini contest? It depends on what you want. The Mac Mini is a sleek contender in the race, but without the TV tuner, can it really replace your VCR or TIVO? The Media Center PC seems to be able to be everything for everyone except if you’re trying to fit it in your entertainment center. Which would you choose?