Label makers are a dime a dozen nowadays, so why would I bother reviewing one? Because the 450 Turbo from Dymo is fast. How fast? Just watch the video.
Aside from its blazing speeds, the 450 Turbo is easy to use and setup. The bundled software works on both Windows and Mac machines with a clean and intuitive UI. Replacing the label spool is also an cinch and accommodates all sizes for address labels, shipping labels, file folder labels, name badges, etc. Total setup time was less than five minutes. And it’s relatively small.
Sometimes exotic dancers fall in love with clients. Likewise, sometimes bloggers buy the products they write about. This is one of those stories (blogging, not exotic dancing).
Two weeks ago I wrote a post about Wahl’s lithium ion electric razor. Shortly after writing said post, I bought one.
In a move to offer inexpensive all-in-one computers to consumers, many companies are fitting Intel’s Atom processors into small form factor PCs and selling them for around $500 to $600. Averatec has adopted a similar approach with the D1133 but has instead bumped the CPU up to a dual-core 1.5GHz AMD chip along with ATI Radeon 3200 graphics and then priced the system to move at $599.
That extra CPU speed, satisfactory graphics chipset, and 2GB of RAM turn the D1133 from a netbook-on-your-desk into a decently-equipped home PC that can be used for more than just simple web surfing — all at a very nice price.
The era of stereo Bluetooth is upon us. While A2DP - essentially the part of Bluetooth that enables stereo transmission of audio - has been around for years, it’s taken Apple two years to get off its duff and add it to the iPhone Bluetooth stack and, me being an iPhone LUVR, it took me that long to actually pay attention to A2DP. I’ve tested wireless Bluetooth headsets before but most of them made me look like Lobot from Cloud City.
The BackBeats are the first pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones that are actually worth looking at. They weigh almost nothing - one ounce - and pair with almost any A2DP compatible phone. The 906 model comes with a Bluetooth adaptor and costs $129.95 while this pair costs $99.95. Read More
The Machinedrum is not something you can easily acquire. It’s hard to find Elektron in your local drum machine shop - not that there are many drum machine shops out there but fortunately all their products can be ordered online - if the price isn’t too steep for you. Anyway, I was eager to try this little beast out so let’s see what it can do.
The Machinedrum is a drum synthesizer with a small sample memory. It has 6 audio outputs and 2 inputs making it a device capable of serious routing and sound designing on stage or in studio. The heart of the machine is the 16 track sequencer which is very easy to use and unlike other devices out there it can in fact be used for live production. You get 64 step patterns out of the box - some are great, some are not - and 130 “machines” that are basically the sounds you can use and edit as you wish. Read More
I’m no marketing wizard, but Guitar Hero Smash Hits could have been called Guitar Hero: Songs From The First Guitar Hero Games Before The Drums and Microphone Existed But Now You Can Play the Good Songs from Those Games on the Drums and Sing Too. Again, I’m no marketing wizard.
And Guitar Hero Smash Hits isn’t a bad game at all. It is what it is, though: a greatest hits game. If you’ve played all the Guitar Hero games before World Tour and you’re only interested in playing guitar, then you’ll find little of value here. But if you liked all of the early songs and have always wished you could play the drumming and singing parts, then Smash Hits is worth a closer look.
Free fun, thy name is Lemonade Tycoon. I downloaded EA Mobile’s free Lemonade Tycoon to my iPod touch yesterday and spent the better part of the afternoon creating my own beverage empire, one fresh squeezed glass at a time.
Windows Home Servers are dropping in price and the Acer easyStore H340 is leading the charge; I like that. This server doesn’t offer a lot of extras like the HP MediaSmart line, but it’s amazingly low price outweighs everything else. Read More
I don’t get a bonerd for LEGOs like some people I know whose names start with a J and end with an S and work for a site that rhymes with shmimono, but I have fond memories of spending countless hours as a youth erecting LEGO fortresses and castles and whatever else my imagination could conjure up. It was always about smashing the other fortress and kicking some tiny LEGO ass, but that was at least 20 years ago. Now fast forward to 2009 and while I still like to kick ass, I enjoy doing it on a much smaller scale. Enter LEGO Battles for the Nintendo DS.
Ugh. Don’t you hate when you get yourself all psyched about a new product and then you use it and realize it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to? That was kind of my experience with Gokivo, the first turn-by-turn GPS app for the iPhone, released on the heels of the iPhone OS 3.0 launch. Unfortunately, despite having some cool features, Gokivo just didn’t work as a turn-by-turn GPS solution. Though it did occasionally get me from point A to point B, there were so many bumps on the road that I found it better to simply use printed Google Maps directions.
Now that everyone has had their say about the Palm Pre, I thought it wise to say a few words about the oft labeled “iPhone killer” that Sprint and Palm hope will bring each back from the edge of the dreaded deadpool. It seems as though every touch-screen device to launch since the first generation iPhone has faced an uphill battle and the Pre is no different. It’s unpolished, sure, but Palm’s webOS has managed to slip in right behind Apple’s iPhone OS, which is something the other smartphone operating systems have failed to do. But it’s not perfect and, let’s face it, nothing is ever perfect on launch day.
Quickie: A paper-thin gaming mouse pad that stays in place thanks to a sticky backside and a surface that really does improve mouse tracking. And the Razer Shpex is only $15. Read More
Short Version:Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 with the Wii MotionPlus accessory is the closest you can get to a true golf simulation for $60. The already-great series gets a nice boost this year with true one-to-one motion sensing, addictive online play, and a bevy of other new features that easily justify the purchase.
Short Version: The LX195 is great back-up solution for both PCs and Macs. It’s a tad overpriced and lacks expandability, but is still a solid Windows Home Server.
It’s not here. We’re not big enough to get one in the first wave of releases and we clearly haven’t “gone native” with the PR persons involved. We’ll have a thorough and intelligent review up after the weekend. Until then, enjoy the above video of Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton.
Short Version: Samsung has put out another well-priced, nicely-featured camcorder in the SMX-F34. If you’re looking for a little more than a simple handheld flash memory camcorder but don’t want to pay top dollar for a high-definition video camera, this model deserves a closer look thanks to marathon battery life, good image quality, 16GB of built-in storage, and a 34x optical zoom all at under $300. Read More
Boutique PC companies have it rough these days, unless they come up with something truly original or compelling, it’s extremely difficult to fight against the bargain brands.
However, for those willing to spend a few extra dollars, some amazing machines are out there. One such brand is MainGear PC, one of the relative newcomers to the game. Maingear recently sent us one of their X-Cube 3D Vision machines to review, and it’s quite impressive.
I’m not a huge movie buff, but I have a pretty good memory and do well enough at movie trivia games. I am also often able to repeat lines verbatim from movies I saw years ago, and usually enjoy doing so. So I was pretty intrigued when I saw Avalinx’s new app, MovieLingo. It’s a simple app, but I think it’s a good example of how to use mobile computing and always-on Internet connectivity to improve the social experience.
Sure you’ve seen wireless 3D mice but have you seen one shaped like a loop? No, you haven’t. That’s why there’s the Hillcrest Labs Loop Pointer, a loop-shaped remote control that costs $99 and promises compatibility with Macs, PCs, and the PS3. It’s obviously great for presenters but they’re also billing this as a media center controller.
It was fairly accurate in our limited testing and would work great as a 10-foot interface controller - you just point it at the screen and it divines its current position without complaint. It’s a bit inaccurate out of the box - it was always pointing a little to the right - but you can learn to work through that issue. An interesting concept and interesting execution - but $99?
We jumped on the chance to take a look at two of Chrome’s newest bags: the Corsair and Vega. As Peter Ha told me, Chrome is one of the last true makers of messenger bags. He is rarely right about anything, but this time he was dead-on. These bags are rad. Read More
Label makers are a dime a dozen nowadays, so why would I bother reviewing one? Because the 450 Turbo from Dymo is fast. How fast? Just watch the video.
Sometimes exotic dancers fall in love with clients. Likewise, sometimes bloggers buy the products they write about. This is one of those stories (blogging, not exotic dancing).
