The Smorgasbord

Looking for a “Hi Def Camcorder”? The “Canon Vixia HF10″ is not only affordable, it records direct to flash media – which is why we think it’s the best bang for your buck right now!

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

I was shocked and amazed when I saw the Vixia HF10 for the first time. Weighing less than one pound and only a little less in size than a water bottle (3″x2.5″x5″) this little wonder is amazing. The one feature that makes it stand out most is the fact that it has an internal flash memory of 16GB. Wow! No more silly tapes, no spinning disk hard drives – none of that! And it has a slot for SD or SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) flash memory cards. You can buy a high capaticy SD card now for around $35, so that’s a big pro! Canon is not the first company to make a flash drive based digital camcorder, but they may be the first to do it as well as they have – especially at this price!

Here are the features of the Canon Vixia HF10:

• 12X Optical Zoom (200X digital zoom)
• 16GB internal memory and SDHD card slot
• SuperRange Image Stabilization
• 2 hours 1920×1080 Full HD Recording time
• 2 Channel Dolby Digital Audio
• External Mic Jack
• Mini HDMI Out
• 2.7″ LCD Screen

I’ve read a lot of really positive reviews, and it’s amazing to me that you can now buy an HD Camcorder for under $1,000! The Vixia HF10 got a 5 star review from c|Net – watch the video review:

One of the things that the video highlighted that I forgot to mention was the fact that you get about an hour of HD record time per charged (included) battery. What you want to do is order one of the double size aftermarket battery packs that will get you about 2 hours of recording time. It will stick out a bit and make the Vixia HF10 a slight bit more bulky – but it will be worth it.

Most places online are listing the Canon Vixia HF10 for $1,000-$1,200. The reason I wrote this review today was that I saw just this morning that Newegg (practially my favorite online electronics store) has it listed for only $829! I consider that a steal since my last digital camera was over $600. This would make the perfect gift for a birthday, Christmas, or Father’s Day! Newegg even has free shipping, how can you beat that with today’s price of gas?

Canon VIXIA HF10 Black High Definition Camcorder
Price: $829.0
Canon VIXIA HF10 2.7″LCD 12X Optical Zoom High Definition Camcorder

Like always – it’s always worth perusing eBay to see if you can get a deal. Here’s the latest eBay auctions for the Vixia HF10:

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If you’re looking for one of those double sized aftermarket batteries, eBay is a great place for that as well:

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Looking for one of the 8GB or greater SDHC flash memory cards? eBay once again to the resuce:

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Here’s something you may not have seen – it’s the “Eye-Fi Wireless SD Card”. Most of us have SD cards lying around because that’s what we store all our precious pictures on in our digital cameras. How many times have you taken pictures, and then waited days (or weeks, or months) before uploading them to your PC or laptop? I can’t count the number of times that I have gotten out the camera and realized that it was full of pictures from a month back. Even worse, that meant fewer pictures I could take – because I couldn’t delete anything off the card yet.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

Enter the “Eye-Fi”. Inside this flash memory card are some tiny electronics that will astound you. This SD memory card can connect to your WiFi network, without cables, or cradles – or anything! It can automatically upload all your pics to any PC on your network OR even upload them to Flickr, Fotki, Shutterfly, Webshots, Photobucket, Kodak Gallery, Sharpcast, Wal-mart, Snapfish, Phanfare, Picase Web Albums, TypePad, VOX, Smugmug, or Facebook! It can even resize photos before submission if you wish! What an unbelievably handy gadget to have!

This could possibly be one of the coolest gift ideas for just about anyone! Imagine giving this to Mom or Grandma – or anyone that hates having to get the cable or usb adapter out just to transfer the pictures every time!

Eye-Fi Wireless 2GB Secure Digital Memory Card SD
Price: $99.99
Photos should not be trapped in your camera. Set them free effortlessly and wirelessly. The Eye-Fi Card is a wireless SD memory card for your digital camera. It stores pictures like a standard SD memory card, but also uses your home Wi-Fi network to automatically transfer images from inside your camera to your PC or Mac and to your favorite photo or social networking website for sharing or printing. No cables, no cradles, no fuss.

You might be able to find a really good new or used eye-fi in one of these auctions as well:

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The Socket Sense Expandable Surge Protector Strip is something I wish I had a long time ago! It always seems like I have some kind of big bulky adapter to plug in that spans more than one outlet. This nifty little gadget just slides out at any outlet to expand and give enough room for big adapters where needed. I think all surge protectors should do this. I can use one of these in my living room entertainment center, and also at just about every computer in the house, in addition to carrying one in my musicians gig bag for the stage (where I have all kinds of adapters for effects)! Where could you use an expandable socket surge strip? click here to check prices for the “Socket Surge”.

A short while ago I reviewed the Asus Eee PC, which is an incredible sub-compact laptop that runs on Linux and you can buy brand new for only $300-$500. Some say it was inspired by the OLPC or One Laptop Per Child initiative. In a way the things that have derailed and plagued the OLPC front are now starting to creep into the computer industry as a whole – and it’s not really surprising.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

Let me explain…in my basement I have a 6 or 7 year old Gateway box. When I got it (used) it had 128MB of RAM and a 20GB HDD. The processor I think is Pentium III, maybe 500-600Mhz?? I upgraded the Ram to 256MB and installed Redhat Linux. Over the years it has had many different versions of Linux, but for the last 3 years or so it’s been Ubuntu. Now that box has 512MB of Ram, a 100GB and 120GB hard drive, and a 128MB graphics card and an LCD dispay. It’s funny, the only thing I never upgraded was the USB 1.1 to 2.0. This box works great as an Internet / email workhorse. I can get any web work done on it, edit graphics, manage digital pics, or mp3′s. I converted video on this box for many years (and still can). My whole point here is that you don’t need a lot of horsepower or the latest hardware to have a solid affordable working home computer for many years (anymore). I know tons of geeks that recycle hardware and do the exact same thing.

Now that technology has evolved a bit, the same “sect” of geeks that recycle hardware wouldn’t mind using that same tech on a portable device they could take with them. There are lots of linux laptops now available, but many geeks have been installing linux on their windows laptops for years. It was inevitable that the Asus Eee Linux PC would be a hit in the geek community. Asus got a taste of success and predicted 2 million Asus Eee PC’s sold this year, and you can just hear somebody in marketing say “if we sold that many Linux Eee’s, just imagine how many we could sell if it had Windows on it!”.

Well, that time has come, and now Asus has come forward to release versions (4G and 12G) Windows XP Home installed. A lot of geeks are pissed off and screaming “sellout”, but Asus isn’t exactly a non-profit company. If the oil companies can make windfall profits the year of the largest hurricane in U.S. history – is it any surprise Asus released a windows version of the Eee PC? I think not.

So now that anyone can enjoy the sub-compact genius of the Eee PC – how well does Windows run on it? It comes with Windows XP, 12GB of storage, 900Mhz Celeron CPU, and 1GB of DDR memory. It has a new 8.9 inch display which can run at 1,024 x 600 pixels, which makes it much closer to a standard (non-wide) desktop. It even supports multi-gesture inputs, like the iPod touch and iPhone, something (that currently) no other PC made today can claim. You don’t get Skype and Open Office installed, but you certainly can install them yourself easily.

Some reviews say the Windows version of the Asus Eee PC aren’t as good as Linux, mainly because the storage is only 12GB instead of 20. The storage had to be sacrificed to pay for the Windows license. The speakers may suck, but they do on the Linux version too. At least the screen is increased to a decent (and still compact) size, and the camera is now a respectable 1.3 megapixels. It’s all give and take I guess.

I had read a lot of reviews on Amazon and eBay where some had purchased the Linux version of the Eee PC and just couldn’t do it. They had all kinds of problems, and probably no “geek” to turn to for help. So they either tried to return them or sell them on eBay. The Windows version is for the masses, and will make it much easier to just “plug and play” devices. Although “most things” work in Linux, there are still of lot of printers, cameras, and other devices that either don’t work, or take a bit of “tweaking” to get running. Let’s face it, none of us may ever drop anything off to the “Geek Squad” to be fixed, but there’s a reason they have customers.

My original Asus Eee (Linux) PC Review.

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The Pure Digital Camcorder by Flip Video is a “point and shoot” digital video camera that makes it easy to make quick videos for web use like YouTube, email, or your blog! They are very popular because they are so easy to use! Sometimes, the best kind of gadget is one that does one thing – and does it well! This is a thin, flat camcorder with a rubberized exterior and sleek look that almost appears to be an iPod or mp3 player of some sort.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

I see gadgets I like all the time, but it really struck me that you can’t really beat what you get for a little over a hundred bucks in this unit, it runs on 2 AA batteries, has a “flip-out” USB 2.0 port, and takes video at 640×480 resolution. You get 30fps in mpg4 format for really small files, and you can even use the devices internal memory as a “mass storage device”. It has a 1.4″ screen and very minimal controls – “play”, “delete”, and “record”. All you have to do is turn it on and hit “record”, and if you don’t like a video just hit “delete” twice and it’s gone. Even your Grandma could shoot video with this camcorder! That’s something to think about too – wouldn’t this make the perfect gift for just about anybody to quickly and easily shoot casual video?

Check out this video of how nice it looks and how easy it is to work:

You can find the Flip Video camcorder in 512MB, 1GB, and the new 2GB ultra models. Depending on what you want – you can find some really great deals on eBay in both new and used deals:

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This AC inverter fits in your cupholder, has a USB slot, AND a holder for your iPod or cell phone – w00t!

I’m in the car a lot – I commute over an hour to work – so having various accessories and gadgets in the gar is kind of a necessity for a geek like me. I also have two teen aged kids, and they have their own gadgets like mp3 players, cell phones, PSP’s, Nintendo DS, and who knows what else. I’ve had an AC power inverter in the car for quite some time just in case I need to plugin the laptop on the go, and it works quite well. We’ve used it on many vacations and trips too.

So when I found the “Smart AC Inverter” with the USB slot and holder I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Let me tell you about the cool geekery this thing has. First of all it’s 150 watts, and that’s enough to power most any laptop. Second it’s designed to fit in your cup holder! Third, it has a USB port for charging your iPod or any mobile device or portable music player with a USB port. Last, it has a holder to drop your iPod, cell phone, or mp3 player into while charging in ADDITION to the AC outlet! I’m sorry – this was designed by someone who knows that would be useful to people on the go! This would make an excellent gift for a commuter, road warrior, or geek on the go – especially for Dad on Father’s Day!

Click for price on the “Smart AC Inverter with USB Slot and Holder”.

Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor

Monitor how much electricity you’re using the the “Kill A Watt” Electricity Usage Monitor! Meter your own electrical usage!

When you get your monthly electric bill – ever wonder what was using the most electricity? What appliance or device is costing you more money per month than any other in your house? Is it your microwave? Your fridge? The hair dryer? There’s no more guesswork, because you can track energy consumption on your own with the “Kill A Watt” gadget. I’ve seen it demonstrated on Good Morning America and other news broadcasts and talk shows, and even online in forums people talk about it calling it the “Kill-o-watt”, “killawatt reader”, killwat, kilowatt, killowatt, and more…

The bottom line is – if you want to learn how-to conserve energy just get this little gadget, let it track how much your spending by the hour, day, week, month, or entire year by measuring the electricity you use for certain devices. Just plug one thing at a time to let it capture a reading, and it will forecast your electric bill costs within 0.2% accuracy! You’ll be amazed at how much money you can save once you find out where your money is going! To Check Prices on the Kill A Watt Click Here

Here’s a video demo of how the Kill-A-Watt works:

I’ve also seen some extremely good deals both new and used Kill a Watt gadgets on eBay – here’s some auctions ending soon for you to check out:

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My new favorite Cell Phone: Touch HTC. Read my review and why I think it’s currently one of the best around for the money!

As Seen in Woman’s World, June 30th, 2008 Issue

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

Awhile back I got asked what my favorite cell phone on the market today was. I got to thinking about it because mine was a little outdated (a year old and outdated – can you believe it?), so I went back to my original criteria for buying a cell phone:

Cell Phone Purchase Check List

• Never Overpay (buy bleeding edge or brand new). This usually means sticking to $250 or less.
• Never Underpay (buy free or sub $100 phones). IMHO – quality is much cheaper.
• Make sure it has the features you want for the next 2 years. This would usually include:
  1. Quality Camera
  2. Bluetooth (stereo if using as mp3 player)
  3. Removable microSD card slot
  4. Web and Wifi Access
  5. Phone as Modem
  6. Adequately sized screen for your type of usage
• Look for positive reviews across multiple sites

So – it was off to do some research. I looked for many hours at PDA’s, flip phones, walkie-talkie phones, sliders, and more…and the “Touch” cell phone by “HTC” was the one that caught my eye. Here are the finer points of this phone:

TouchFLO technology: In layman’s terms “it works like an iPhone” (at half the price). You can use a stylus, but your fingers are just as good.
Windows Mobile 6: You can sync your Outlook, calendar, and contacts with your PC using “ActiveSync” software.
2 Megapixel Camera: Take better quality pictures up to 1200×800 pixels in size – good enough to print or use for desktop backgrounds.
MicroSD memory card slot: will take up to 4GB microSD cards meaning you can store up to 450+ songs in your cell phone.
Stereo Bluetooth: Use your phone as a high quality mp3 player with stereo bluetooth built-in.
Phone as Modem: Browse the web on your laptop through the phone.
4 hours talk time: Pretty darn good for a touch phone.
Rubberized case: Easy to palm and hold, comfortable for long periods of time.

HTC Touch Video Review -

You can use this phone on Sprint, Alltel, Verizon, AT&T (Cingular) – so nearly all the major carriers have it now. You can even find it on eBay – you might even get a deal. The advantage of buying on eBay is if you pay the price there you won’t have to buy into a contract. But if you get it from one of the carriers (Sprint, etc.) you’ll get it cheaper (usually) – but have to sign up for probably a 2 year contract. You might get lucky and get some kind of mail-in rebate as well. Sometimes Amazon has some great deals on phones, so I’ll give you some links below for good deals on the HTC Touch.

Visit Used Cell Phones for both new and used cell phone auctions.

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Growing fresh herbs in your kitchen is now a reality with the high-tech “AeroGarden” smart garden from AeroGrow. Every since I first saw this – I thought it was one of the coolest things ever. It’s basically a cool little container you can put on your kitchen counter with some holes for enclosed seed pods (no dirt required), built in plant grow light and canopy, built in reminders for water, and timer for lights.

The plant roots are suspended in air and bathed in nutrients and oxygenated air, they say that the plants can grow up to twice as fast in their patended system. You can grow all kinds of things with this, from fresh herbs, to cherry tomatoes, roses, and more!

Here, check out a little of their official 10 minute “infomercial” -

I kind of think that this would be one of the coolest and “best Mother’s Day gifts” you could give, because it’s not only unique, but more than likely will get used for a very, very long time! You can check out the official AeroGarden web site here

If you want to try to get a deal or sale on an AeroGarde, another place you can try is eBay, and I’ve listed the latest auctions for AeroGarden’s on eBay now below…

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Looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift? I think I found it for you…technology has finally advanced to the point where you can carry pictures of your loved ones on your keychain. The 1.4 inch Screen shows pictures one at a time or in slideshow mode, and it can show up to 56 jpg pics at 125×125 size. It has a rechargeable battery, USB device cable, and even photo editing software on mini-CD. This is perfect for grandma, or your mom- you could just load it with pics, wrap it up, and then give it to her on Mother’s day for the best gift ever!

Extended Description – “Digital Picture Frames” Keep your favorite photos close at hand with the TAO digital photo key chain. Using the included USB cable, load the Tao frame with as many as 56 JPEG photos each measuring 125 x 125 pixels. It weighs Keep your favorite photos close at hand with the TAO digital photo key chain. Using the included USB cable, load the Tao frame with as many as 56 JPEG photos each measuring 125 x 125 pixels. It weighs just 2 ounces, and its rechargeable battery provides up to 2 1/2 hours of image viewing between charges. Preload it with images and give to a friend or family member. They’ll love it! Includes AC charger, USB device cable and photo editing software on a MiniCD.

Click Here to get order details for “Digital Picture Keychain”

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