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Hardware

I was recently in the market for an affordable, HD-capable pocket video camera. I knew Pure Digital’s Flip line of pocket camcorders like the Mino HD and Ultra HD were very popular in this space and as such I was just about ready to buy one. However, I decided to look around first and that’s when I discovered the $180 Kodak Zi8 HD pocket video camera. After having the Zi8 on hand for a few weeks, I believe it to be the best high-definition pocket video camera near the ~$200 price point on the market now. I’ll attempt to explain why in this review but if you’re looking for a quick answer, it’s because the Zi8 has an external microphone input, SDHC support and some interesting things I’ll get into soon.

Kodak Zi8 high definition pocket video camera
Photo taken with D90 and my favorite lens: 50mm f/1.8

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For those of you that have been reading for a while (thanks!), it’s no surprise that I am a music fan. I wouldn’t quite say audiophile as I don’t find the need to spend sizable amounts of money on audio equipment, but I always have some music playing and enjoy a high quality audio setup. About two years ago I reviewed the excellent Sonos Digital Music System. The only problem with that setup was the price — just over $1,000 for all of the components. Since then I haven’t been able to get back into Sonos’ product line as everything was still rather expensive. Sonos hopes to change that with their new ZonePlayer S5, running at $399 USD.

Sonos S5 system in the kitchen
What? Your kitchen doesn’t look like this?? Neither does mine. This is a press photo. Pretty sure they used fake ice for that wine.. since when do chilled wine bottles lack condensation?

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The saga continues as I go to all lengths to find 5 bars of cell phone reception at home. It first started when I moved into my new apartment. I didn’t think to check my cell reception when first touring the property so I was in shock after I moved in and noticed I had No Service. In the meantime, I signed up with Vonage for a VoIP line, but I hated having two phone numbers. I experimented with the Wi-Ex zBoost cell signal booster and that worked, but there were drawbacks. It only provided a 6 foot radius of signal, the booster [click to continue…]

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By the time you read this, Microsoft’s latest attempt at making a decent desktop operating system (I kid, I kid), dubbed Windows 7, will have been released worldwide. I took it upon myself (and my debit card) to build a new computer properly suited for Windows 7, as well as some HTPC/gaming goodness, after receiving this Skribit suggestion. I have always been a fan of Small Form Factor computers, dating back to my old Shuttle SB61G2 (Intel P4) and SN85G4 (AMD Athlon 64) computers. When it came time to plan out my next PC build, I decided to stick with SFF and base the system off of the fairly new Shuttle SX58H7 barebones kit. [click to continue…]

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So you’ve built a fancy new HTPC, with a custom case that fits perfectly into your home theater setup, but without fail you’re still using a wireless keyboard and mouse created with desktop use in mind. (Or maybe you’re up on your gadget game and have a gyro mouse or use software like Boxee that only needs a remote.) There’s something wrong with that picture and GlideTV has recognized the need for a custom mouse for couch surfers. GlideTV just announced what they are claiming to be the first “couch mouse” and it is [click to continue…]

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It started out like any typical Friday morning. I snoozed the iPhone alarm about 5 times then got a late start to the morning and did a groggy stumble to the desk to check email before doing anything else. Unfortunately, this time my 11 month old 15-inch MacBook Pro (unibody) kernel panicked a lot, on every boot. It wouldn’t even see the Intel X25-M SSD I had in there although the drive was completely usable in two other computers. After a half-day of debugging I ended up going to the Apple store, doing a “quick drop” at the Genius Bar and buying a new 17-inch MacBook Pro so I could keep working; based on my experience that Apple repair can be slow sometimes and I didn’t want to wait a week or more before getting back to work. [click to continue…]

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Two years ago I wrote one of my most popular articles, A Realistic Back to School Guide for College Students (and off-campus edition). In it I talked about how great cheap black and white laser printers were for the college student or pretty much anyone that isn’t printing out color photos (I leave that to Flickr Prints anyways):

Printers are the one item you can technically do without in college and be okay. Most, if not all, universities let you print out at the library, although you are likely on a quota, such as a max of 10 pages may be printed during any one week. If you don’t like making 3am runs to the library to print off a report, then getting a printer is for you. Considering that most of what you print will be PowerPoint handout slides and papers, it is best that you get an affordable black and white laser printer.

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Every once in a while I get the chance to check out some different kinds of gadgets – ones that I wouldn’t normally buy on my own. At first it was the $699 USD Wicked Lasers 155mW green laser that can ignite matches, and then I took a look at the $400 AE Light Xenide 20W HID personal searchlight. Today I’ll be taking a look at something a bit more ordinary, a LED flashlight by Neofab called the Legion II. Okay, well maybe it’s not that ordinary. With a rated output of 742 torch lumens, Neofab claims the Legion II is the world’s brightest single LED flashlight. [click to continue…]

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CLEAR Launches 4G WiMAX in Atlanta

June 17, 2009

If you live in Atlanta, you’ll be happy to hear that there’s a new ISP in town. And I’m not talking about just any type of Internet connection. I’m talking about WiMAX (read my Thoughts on WiMAX post). It’s called CLEAR by Clearwire and its launch makes Atlanta the “Fastest Unwired City in the [...]

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Review: Wi-Ex zBoost zPersonal Cell Signal Booster

June 15, 2009

Not too long ago I mentioned how I moved to a new apartment but was very disappointed to learn that I now live in an AT&T dead zone. A bit of testing has proved that I do not live in an AT&T dead zone (5 bars on the sidewalk outside), but the building’s stucco and [...]

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Review: Roku Digital Video Player

May 10, 2009

From time to time, I have confessed my love for the Vudu set-top box that instantly streams up to 720p quality HD movies (or 1080p quality non-instant) over the Internet to your TV. The Vudu player is not subscription-based, so in addition to ponying up for the hardware, you have to pay an average [...]

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Microsoft’s Laptop Hunters Ads: When Will They Stop?

May 5, 2009

If you haven’t caught wind of Microsoft’s Laptop Hunters advertisements by now, well you’re lucky. They’re a series of (hopefully only) six ads meant to take a jab at Apple’s successful “Get A Mac” commercials. So far four of these ads are out and they are based on the premise that some person is looking [...]

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Thoughts on Netbooks

April 13, 2009

With all the noise about netbooks over the last 2 years and a Skribit suggestion on the same matter, I think I’m overdue for a post divulging my thoughts on netbooks. First off, what are these so-called netbooks? You’ve no doubt heard the term countless times. It refers to a small, generally affordable (I’m [...]

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Review: Kingmax Super Stick 8GB USB Flash Drive

January 13, 2009

Over the last few months I have spotted more and more people toting diminutive USB flash drives, similar to 2005’s oddly failed SD Plus form factor memory cards. The flash drives I am talking about are literally one chip with no additional USB adapter. They fit inside the actual USB port. Around two months ago [...]

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Going HD: Part 3 (Blu-ray and Surround Sound)

January 11, 2009

It has been a while since I have written about my move to an HD home theater setup. Going HD: Part 1 detailed the arrival of Samsung’s 50-inch plasma HDTV while Going HD: Part 2 with discussing the build of an HTPC. Part 3 will discuss the addition of a 5.1 surround sound system [...]

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