Archive for the ‘Computers’ Category

Out With The Old, In With The New

Monday, August 9th, 2010

Technology is a funny thing – on the one hand, it promises so much and is something we cannot live without today; and on the other, it makes you want to tear your hair out in frustration even as you’re staring in awe at the latest model of your favorite gadget that’s just out. Why? Because you just spent a bomb on the earlier model which was then the “latest” and “most happening” gizmo to own and use, and you’re torn between listening to your common sense that tells you your bank account cannot bear the additional burden and your desire that’s screaming and drowning out the common sense and commanding you to buy it. And because I’ve seen my share of tech geeks and aficionados and because I’m sort of one myself, I know that desire mostly wins out in the end.

It’s a hard battle that you have to fight with temptation whenever new gadgets are introduced and new technology is out on the market, but if you set a few ground rules for yourself, you don’t have to break the bank and end up broke in your desire to own the latest gizmos.

Don’t buy just because it’s new – instead, check out the features of the new device to see if there are any that your old one doesn’t have and if these new features are aspects that you would use on a regular basis. When you buy technology just for the sake of doing so and without taking into consideration its utility value, it’s only going to gather dust in your drawer or closet. So if you respect technology, buy it only if you’re going to use it.

• I’m not going to suggest you buy a phone or a notebook or any other technological gadget only if you really need it; that doesn’t work for people who’re crazy about gadgets. What I would suggest however is that you space out your purchases; so if you’ve just invested in a new smartphone, don’t buy another for at least six months, even if it’s being touted to be the “best in the business”. But you’re free to buy a laptop computer or netbook or any other gadget that’s just out and which features the most innovative technology. This way, you don’t end up craving too much.

Never borrow to finance your passion – buying up gadgets as soon as they’re out is forgivable; what’s not is when you use borrowed money, like a loan or a credit card to finance the purchase. If you don’t have the required funds in your account to pay off your credit cards in full every month, then you’re not doing yourself any favors. All you’re going to do is end up in a very deep hole of debt. So go ahead, treat yourself to any fancy gadget you like; just ensure that you have the money to pay for it.

Personally speaking, there are some gadgets that I would give my right arm to own, not just for their utility value, but because they’re so sleek and sexy that you just want to possess them. But then, if you give in to every whim and fancy, the gizmos you buy are going to sour in value when your credit card bill comes in. So think your decision through, check your bank balance, and make your choice accordingly.

This guest post is contributed by Anna Miller, who writes on the topic of online degree. She welcomes your comments at anna.miller009@gmail.com

Cloak Arrives : The Best iPad Case Is Now Shipping

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Some time ago, I got involved with the creation of a crowd-influenced product by Quirky called Cloak. It’s an iPad case with features no other cases has (that I’ve found, anyway).

Cloak iPad Case

Better still, this thing looks as good as I expected but also seems to do a wonderful job not only at holding the iPad in place, but also protecting it in the event of bumps and falls. Ben of Quirky practically throws it around in this video.

I’m proud to be a part of it and it’s exciting to see it finally shipping!

Turning Old Hard Drives Into New Clocks

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

What happens to your old dead hard drive after you’re done with it? Some destroy it to protect sensitive data. Some people just throw theirs away. Then there’s Ben Bedell, an artist with a techie flair who repurposes hard drives as clocks.

Hard Drive CLock

I found these hard drive desk clocks for sale at the First Friday Art Walk in Phoenix and they can also be bought online at TimeRecycled.com. Though I haven’t yet bought one, they look even better in person and appear well made.

Computer Art Timepieces

Here’s a little more information from the site:

These are hand-crafted timepieces created from recycled hard drives out of personal computers. Each hard drive is disassembled, painted, and fitted with a timepiece and custom stand. Each unique stand is cut out of recycled motherboards, modems, video cards, and other various electronic components. No two clocks are the same!

Clock hands and hard drive components can be painted in a variety of colors:
- Black, White, Gray, Dark Blue, Blue, Dark Red, Copper
- Red, Orange, Neon Orange, Yellow, Neon Yellow
- Purple, Pink, Dark Green, Green, Neon Green, Teal
- Custom Color Combinations are available

Each clock comes with a “AA” battery so your clock will be ready to keep time.

The clocks run $30 to $40 and cost $10 to ship. That’s not bad for these geeky conversation pieces, but I emailed Ben and he was cool enough to provide a 10% discount to all my readers! Mention JoeTech.com at the time of purchase and he’ll knock 10% off the clock price. Throw one on your desk at the office and let me know what you think.

The Best iPad Stand Idea Is Making Waves

Friday, May 21st, 2010

With my own iPad on its way to me soon, I’ve been looking at accessories I can pair it with for the perfect experience. The video capabilities present me with a need for a good stand to put the iPad on while watching a TV show or movie, but most of the stands on the Internet are pretty lifeless and they’re all pretty similar in features. Then a stand found me.

UPDATE: This stand now has a web site and will be taking pre-orders in the near future : Perfect iPad Stand

iPad Stand

Yeah… The bottom part is a bowl meant to eat food from. I’ve posted a couple times about Quirky, a site that takes product ideas through a community-driven process that refines the idea into a product, logo and all. This is where a site member, Jeff Tromp entered his idea for the perfect iPad stand. Just watch the video to see how it works.

A Better iPad Stand

What will make this iPad stand better than everything currently on the market? The thing that stands out the most to me is the full range of motion it provides. Jeff makes some great points in his video, showing how Apple’s stand sticks you with portrait positioning and walks away. His racing game demonstration in the video above (and additional racing-specific demo) show his iPad stand going beyond portrait or landscape, turning the iPad, itself, into the steering wheel for the game. From what I’ve seen, it really seems to provide the freedom that all the existing stands are lacking.

The amazing part about this new (hopefully) soon-to-be-product is that people are already reviewing it and consumers are lining up to buy one. Across the globe, a site in Korea posted a favorable opinion (translated) and views on his YouTube demo just keep going up. A lot of his video traffic is viral and that says a lot.

Make it happen (and make some money)

The two best things about Quirky are that you can help guide the development of a product and that you can make money doing it. This is no exception. Jeff’s Perfect iPad Stand is in the running to be chosen as Quirky’s Product 46 and I think it will win, too. Just click that link and create a free account at Quirky to vote for Jeff’s idea. If it wins, your vote will earn you a little piece of every single sale. Seriously. Not only can you say you helped it become a product, but when it’s ready for sale, you can wake up in the morning and see earnings from its sales. I know this because I’m currently earning on 21 products at Quirky and the highest earner for me is their Cloak iPad case.

Find The Best Broadband Deals On BroadbandGenie

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of broadbandgenie.co.uk. All opinions are 100% mine.

I don’t move much, but when I do, one of the important things I look at is what broadband solutions will be available to me. I need my high speed access. Just last weekend, my mom, who has lived in the same house for years, got new broadband internet access. She called me for help with figuring out what all this stuff meant and which provider to use, but what if I didn’t know?

Broadband Genie - top

This is where a site like Broadband Genie comes in. They offer comparisons of broadband (and other) services along with guides, news, tools, etc. Here’s what they have to say about why you might want to use their site:

* Save time and money. We spend loads of time gathering and checking all the price and package data from all the top providers, so you don’t have to.
* Be a sheep, make your life easy. If you don’t want to trawl through the comparison tables looking for that special deal, see what our experienced editors and users recommend.
* Get an education. If you want to learn all about broadband internet, how it works and how to compare it, then let us translate it all into plain-English for you. We’ve got help guides, blogs, daily news, and loads of places you can ask questions or just have a good moan.

For those in the U.S., the site won’t be much help in regards to comparing services. Non-UK readers still have plenty of reasons to visit, though, so keep reading.

Compare Broadband Providers

In the interest of the review, I pretended I was in Staffordshire and used Google to find an address where I could pretend to live. This yielded much better results from Broadband Genie, which returned a list of broadband providers in order of suggested use. The list displayed the initial setup cost, monthly cost, contract length, speed, and download caps as seen below.

Broadband Genie

I was able to sort by any of the columns I mentioned above and more information was a click away, taking me to a page loaded with information specific to the provider. The provider page included service highlights, an overview of different packages, a “road test” widget showing overall user ratings, and customer reviews. This page proved to be a pretty good snapshot of what the provider has to offer.

Compare Mobile Services and More

This site goes beyond just home/office broadband to also compare mobile phone services, pay as you go mobile broadband, and even deals that give you a laptop (with a contract for the mobile broadband). These work in the same way, providing a sortable ordered list and detail pages.

Tools and Guides

Broadband GenieBefore buying any services, it’s helpful to get educated. Broadband Genie starts with a broadband guide right on the home page to answer questions like “What is broadband?” and “What are modems, routers & dongles?”. Additional guides help you determine compatibility, understand broadband speeds, and even help guide you through setting it all up. Along with the guides, the newsletter, frequently updated News section, forums, and “Ask the Genie” form seem to make sure you’ll find the answers you’re looking for.

Once you’ve learned all about broadband speeds, you can test your own to get an idea of what your needs might be. The first time I ran the speed test, it actually crashed Firefox. When I loaded it up again, it worked great, so I can’t say if that’s a bug or my browser was just having one of its fits. I’ve since tried on another computer in Firefox, and Chrome with no crashing problems, but I’m not sure the results are reliable. They seemed much lower than I had expected, so I headed to another site that returned vastly different numbers which were very close to my expectations.

Conclusions

The speed test didn’t impress me at all, but it was a small bump in a very smooth and freshly paved road to broadband knowledge. Broadband Genie had what I expected. Then it had more and more and even more. I still feel like I left some stones unturned on this site and can only imagine other features I’ve missed. It really only needs two things to be perfect, a U.S. sister site and maybe a better speed test (assuming it’s actually inaccurate).

Also, for those in Australia, Broadband Genie has an Australian site too, which also compares mobile broadband and broadband deals.