Due to a recent stroke in the family, I recently was motivated to look for a method of helping non-verbal people communicate without making everyone around them learn sign language, or play charades. There are a number of apps available for smartphones and tablets, notably the iPad and the Android platform. After comparing features (and […]
Category Archives: Gadgets
Streaming your Own Media at Home
You’ve cut the cable and now you want to be able to watch videos, listen to music, and look at the (thousands!) of digital photos you’ve taken; but you (or your spouse) don’t want that “big, noisy, ugly computer” in the living room, where your biggest HDTV is. Fear not, my friend! If you already […]
Netflix killed by the MPAA: Where do we go now?
By this time you probably know that Netflix has been forced to increase their prices by sixty percent in order to remain profitable after Hollywood decided to kill the golden goose (e.g., jack up the prices that Netflix has to pay for streaming movies and rental DVDs). My wife is adamant that we’re going to […]
New Gadgets from D-Link
D-Link has a couple of new gadgets out now that are great for those who have (or who plan to have) a Home Theater PC. First up, announced in May 2011, is the DAP-1513 dual-band wireless-N bridge, or “wi-fi bridge” to those of us who want to say what it is before lunch is over. […]
And the Beat(down) Goes On: Getting Ripped Off in HDMI
Back in March of this year (2011), an electronics firm in Australia took the unprecedented step of letting consumers know that people who were paying more than AUS$10 (which is also $10 US, near enough) were getting ripped off. Kogan posted an offer on their blog to provide a free HDMI cable to anyone who […]
Build your own Chromebook for cheap
Looking for a Chromebook so you can cut your dependency on expensive commercial software? Well, I’ve got good news, and bad news. The good news is that you can buy one now. The bad news is that they start at $350 and go up. If you’re not absolutely sure that a Chromebook will do what you need, that’s a lot of money to drop on an experiment.
Make your own Ringtones
Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder why a complete MP3 file costs 99 cents, but the 15-to-30-second ringtone clipped out of the middle of it costs $1.99 or more? My advice is don’t buy ringtones. Period. Ever. That doesn’t mean you can’t have ringtones – just don’t buy them. You can make […]
Are Bloom Boxes our ‘Green Energy’ Solution?
Bloom Energy unveiled the “Bloom Box” last week, also called the Bloom Energy Server. The box is around the size of a parking space, and each one can power a 30,000 sq. foot office building, or 100 average US homes. Ebay and Google have already been using this technology to power some of their buildings […]
“Fix” your Windows 7 laptop battery problem
Did Windows 7 destroy your laptop battery? Probably not! Here’s a workaround.
Preview: Chinese PSP Go Knockoff
The Chinese are at it again, this time with a knockoff of the new PSP Go. This one plays 16-bit NES titles, MP3s, and AVIs, and if you want to see what it looks like “up close,” go down to your local game store and look at Sony’s PSP Go. Except for the color and […]
Review: Roku Player
Play Netflix Watch Instantly videos, Amazon Video on Demand, MLB.com and dozens of other channels, both free and subscription, on your TV. Internet video is here!
They’re using lasers, Captain!
Bowhunting seems like an unlikely sport in which to find gadgets that were science fiction just a short time ago, but believe it or not, some bowhunters in Oregon have come up with an innovation that looks like something out of Universal Soldier. The Neverguess Rangefinder is an arm-worm laser rangefinder for bowhunters. This is […]
Can speakers and headphones peacefully co-exist?
ThinkGeek sells a nice speaker/headphone switching device for under $10. Check it out!
The new LG BL40 Chocolate: iPhone killer?
Honestly, can anything kill the iPhone? Users are entrenched, they’ve “invested” loads of cash in apps from the Apple App Store, and even though there are constant complaints about the quality of AT&T’s network, iPhone users aren’t likely to move. But the new LG BL40 Chocolate, due for release in 54 countries in late 2009, […]
Quick Tips: Open plastic clamshells quickly
It seems like all the cool gadgets come in those annoying plastic clamshell packages; the ones that not only prevent theft when the gadget is in the store, but prevent you from actually using the gadget you just bought! Annoying, isn’t it? I just found a simple and cheap way to make a hot knife […]