Posts about a variety of topics which are not news and are not reviews.
The Friday after Thanksgiving marks the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the US, but my Christmas shopping is well underway – and sometimes finished – by that day. I start thinking about good gift ideas for all my friends and family at the beginning of the new year, and I’ve found many […]
I love the Holidays….the brisk winter weather (or for us here in the Pacific Northwest, the dumping rain), the hustle and bustle, getting together with family and friends, eating too much, buying gifts for everyone, etc. Often I am consulted to assist those same friends and family members in buying tech-gifts for folks on their
Dave’s Holiday Wish Lists and Suggestions Read More
It’s Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when crazy shoppers (you know who you are) flock to stores to buy holiday presents for friends and family. Some of the team here at The Gadgeteer thought we’d get together and offer some gift ideas for products we love. We also wanted to share our own wish
Julie’s Christmas Ideas and Wish List Read More
I just returned from a very nice vacation in Sanibel Island, Florida. If you’ve never visited, you should seriously consider it… trust me. I decided to conduct a little experiment and did not take along my trusty Macbook Pro. Instead, I made my iPad serve as my only computer traveling companion for the trip. I thought
Why did my iPad Fail as a Laptop Replacement During my Vacation? Read More
Chances are you have had at least one Nokia phone in your life if you were born sometime before 1990. Fast forward to today, it’s probably a Samsung, Motorola, HTC, RIM or Apple (smartphone). Even if it is from some other brand, I can bet that it is not a Nokia. Why? What happened? Nokia dominates
Android is everywhere. It is spreading like a bushfire in California. And it does not appear to be slowing down. In fact, it is getting bigger, faster and stronger day after day. You probably have one in your hand or in your pocket right now. If you don’t, you have at least thought about seeing
What’s Wrong with Android? Read More
It’s been 30 days since I terminated my contract with AT&T, ditched the iPhone 4, signed up with Verizon and purchased a Droid X. For the most part, the move has been a good one. Verizon’s call quality and 3G coverage in my area are significantly better than AT&T. But has the transition been all
My Thoughts on the Motorola Droid X After One Month Read More
The makers of the Peek Pronto have introduced a new device; the Peek 9. Great! What is it? Is it a phone? A scientific calculator? A digital dictionary? I got it, it’s an Electronic Foreign Language Translator! Actually it is none of those things. It is an Email Device. It probably should be some or
A while ago, Steve Jobs said when introducing the iPad, “The transformation of the PC to new form factors like the tablet is going to make some people uneasy because the PC has taken us a long ways”. True, the PC has taken us a long way and yes, the tablets are the latest hot
Tablets Replacing Laptops? Read More
If there’s anything that I love as much as getting my hands on a shiny new gadget, it’s taking old gadgets and repurposing them to accomplish something completely awesome. I recently combined a low-end Eye-Fi card, a 2008 Mac Mini, and a little elbow grease to turn my home theater system into a slideshow displaying
Geek Up Your Party With a Live-Updating Slideshow Read More
I’ve said this numerous times, but I’ll say it again – I’m a TV junkie. Reality TV, medical dramas, regular dramas, comedies, movies, cooking shows, you name it, I watch it. For the past several years, I’ve enjoyed these shows from my DirecTV satellite DVR on a huge 65″ RPTV. But one month ago I
How I’m using my iMac as my only TV Read More
Like a lot of people hearing about Apple’s iPad announcement, I thought “it’s just a big iPod touch.” Since I already had an iPod touch, I certainly didn’t need the iPad. But I kept thinking about it, and I finally realized that “just a big iPod touch” was just what I needed. I almost never use my
My First Impressions of the Apple iPad Read More
For those of you with Comcast Analog service, you probably are aware that Comcast will be dropping most of its analog signals and will move to an all-digital delivery in a few months. Comcast has begun rolling out digital set-top boxes (aka Digital Control Transceiver, Digital Cable Box, etc.) to analog customers and I received
“Why can’t I get this TV off of channel 3?” -or- How I spent my weekend Read More
I have been going to consumer electronics trade shows for over a decade (anyone remember Comdex?), but I had never attended the Toy Fair in New York city until this past week. I thought it was about time that I checked it out and now I want to share with you a few of the
Toy Fair 2010 Trip Report Read More
Do you ever read new product posts here on The Gadgeteer and think that you could easily make something yourself that would be a fraction of the cost? Sandee Cohen did just that. Let’s check the results.
It has now been several weeks since Apple officially announced the iPad, and everybody and their dog has taken the opportunity to voice their opinion on it. Some people think that it’s undeniably the future of computing. Some people think that it’s a flash-in-the-pan fad that will fail miserably, taking Apple down with it. Having
The iPad: What It Means For You, What it Means For Apple Read More
If you read my Sony PRS-600 review, you’ll know that I entered the dedicated ebook reader world with the Sony PRS-500. After we upgraded to the PRS-505 readers, we passed along our old readers. All three of these old 500s still work fine, but after a couple of years Sony stopped issuing firmware updates for
My Experience With Sony’s Upgrade Process for the PRS-500 Reader Read More
Do you have your eye on a multi-device charging system, but don’t want to fork over the $’s to buy one? Have you ever considered making one? That’s exactly what Gadgeteer reader Robert Grenader decided to do. Check out his handy work.
DIY – Multi-Device Charging Station Read More
I get quite a few emails every week asking for advice on which laptop to purchase, what mobile phone to buy, help with picking a gear bag, etc. Unfortunately, I don’t always have time to offer advice or I don’t have enough knowledge on the subject to answer the question in the first place. As
Reader Questions – Netbooks and HP Tablets Read More
Happy New Year! Now that 2009 is over, I thought it only fitting that we take a look back to see what were the most read reviews here on The Gadgeteer last year. Some of them really surprised me, not for their subject matter, but because they weren’t even written during last year at all.
The Gadgeteer’s Top 25 Reviews of 2009 Read More