Tag Archives: Hardware

Review: Grid-It’s Cocoon

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Gadgets are awesome. But if you are like me and have too many, you quickly run into gadget hell. My backpack is filled with tangled wires, dongles, ear pieces, and chargers. Finding the exact device I need can be challenging.

Then a few weeks ago I saw Grid-It’s Cocoon on Lifehacker and quickly purchased one. I just finished filling it out and really like i so far. It is a quick and easy way to organize all your gadgets and cables. If you have $10-$20 to spare and want to organize your gadgets, I recommend checking it out.

Review: Harmony One Remote

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The Harmony One is easily the best buy of the past 6 months for me (even though someone bought it for me). For anyone with more than 1 home theater device, get this remote. Since I bought this remote, I have lost all my other remotes, and it is a good thing.

It is a universal remote that focuses more on user actions that devices and inputs. For example, you can create a Watch TV action that turns on the TV, Receiver, and cable box together, and sets everything to the right input. Very simple and easy to use.

But enough of my gushing over the device…let’s get objective/subjective.

Why is it sweet?

On the instructions, it warns you that setup will probably take about 30 minutes of the remote. It was exactly 30 minutes for me to get everything working. After this configuration, I haven’t had to update anything in 3 months.

I like it because it just works. I press Watch TV or Watch DVD and all my devices get turned on and set to the right inputs. But, what’s even better is the Help button, which tries to fix any problems, in case you accidentally pointed the remote at your toaster instead of your TV. I probably use the help button once a week, and every other time everything works perfectly anyways.

And don’t let me forget, it has a beautiful design. From the body to the touch screen, its sweet (for some reason I felt dirty saying that).

But these are all tangent to the real reason this remote is amazing. My girlfriend doesn’t call me asking how to watch a DVD on the XBOX anymore. You don’t have to play the role of tech support for your home theater.

Any bad thoughts?

None. My only word of warning would be this remote is for making things work, not adjusting the rotary girder of your Killer Audio Receiver 3000. Very detailed settings like independent speaker volumes and such may be hidden in menus or non-existent.

logitech-harmony-one

Review: Quickcam Pro for Notebooks

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My dad was early adopter of webcams. I was not. Looking back on it, he understood their power to bring people together that aren’t geographically close at all. During that time, he experienced the pain of bad internet connections, terrible drivers, and installation hell. I waited until all that disappeared.

I bought the Quickcam Pro for Notebooks because I have an increasingly growing number of people I want to talk to that aren’t anywhere close to me. This model caught my eye because it works for notebooks, but has an awesome stand for desktops. Not to mention it is super sleek and small.

Aesthetics are always important, but the quality is where the substance is and this camera has amazing quality. Skype HQ video is really awesome and I use it all the time.

Most importantly, the installation is super easy and lightweight. Pop in the CD, install, and it works. No problems, at least for me.

I highly recommend buying this webcam to anyone out there, you won’t regret it. Unlike the Arc mouse, I have had this camera longer and would buy another one if it broke tomorrow.

Not only do I recommend this webcam, but I recommend video conferencing for anyone that needs to talk to people remotely, but that’s a different story for a different day.