Lenovo ThinkPad T60 Review (pics, specs)

A good review of the ThinkPad T60, which I think is the ultimate laptop (next to the new Mac!).

Jabra BT800

Preliminary review

I picked up a Jabra BT800 the other day at CompUSA ($99 manager's special; $149 retail and street price is ~$119). My previous headset (a circa 2001 Jabra BT200) literally fell apart on me--which wasn't unexpected when you consider that I've been using the same one for five years. Incidentally, the BT200 was Jabra's first Bluetooth headset ever and has been a great performer for me.

When contemplating the purchase of a new headset, I had already decided to go with a new Jabra as I was very pleased with the performance (and longevity) of my previous unit. After reviewing the Jabra line, which now spans around 10 different Bluetooth headsets, I had narrowed my choice down to two options: the BT800, which is literally the state-of-the-art unit (more on that later), and the BT500, which is the latest incarnation of their original Bluetooth headset.

Being a gadget guy, I was immediately drawn to the BT800, which has a number of state-of-the-art features:

1. LCD display that shows incoming caller ID information and enables the headset to have a menu system (more on that later);

2. Digital signal processing (DSP) technology: allows the headset to automatically adapt to environmental noise levels (e.g. if you walk outside into a noisy environment, the unit automatically raises the volume level!). DSP also allows the unit to cancel wanted noises, which benefits both the wearer as well as the person on the other end of the call.

3. On-the-ear design: unlike the BT200/500 series, which rides on the back of the ear and involves inserting an "ear gel" into the ear canal, the BT800 is much easier to don as it rides on the top of the ear.

4. Vibrating alerts and ring tones: the BT800 can vibrate and/or generate its own ringtone when the phone rings. The former is nice when you have the unit in a pocket and the latter is nice when you have the unit on your ear--both particularly so if your phone isn't on you when it rings.

5. USB and AC charging: the unit can be charged either via a standard AC "wall wart" or via a supplied USB cable--which means you can charge the unit directly from a PC>

6. Upgradeability: since the unit has a USB cable for charging, Jabra also took advantage of this feature to allow a PC to upgrade the software running on the unit, which I have already taken advantage of.

7. Menu system: through a combination of buttons on the unit and a "jog" switch, plus the LCD display, the user can configure the unit completely using the menu system. This includes pairing the unit (which can also be achieved by pressing a recessed dedicated pairing button), changing the earpiece ring tones, and even reviewing a list of incoming phone numbers. The latter is particularly interesting, as the unit can actually instruct the phone to dial a number in the earpieces' call list--a really cool feature.


8. Battery life: the unit has 6 hours talk and 125 hours standby time, which is excellent.

Field Testing

As you might suspect, I had to take the unit "in the field" for some testing, and so far the results are impressive. I was using the BT800 yesterday on my way in to work, which involves walking from a parking lot to a commuter light rail train, when three buses drove by me (very loud diesels). I reflexively reached for the volume control when I noticed that the Jabra had automatically increased the volume for me--very cool--and I was able to continue the conversation without having to adjust the volume. I also noticed that the Jabra does a decent job of dealing with wind--a 15 mph wind did not bother it, although later in the day a 30 mph wind rendered it unusable (not a big surprise--no headset can deal with wind very well). The unit also deals very well with background noise--to an extent. In noisy environments, the unit's DSP circuitry definitely helps, but once it gets too noisy, not even high-tech wizardry can help.

In summary, so far I am very impressed with the BT800--it's a nice melding of high-tech with usability. We'll see how I like it after the "honeymoon" period is over, but if my past experience with Jabra units is any indicator, the BT800 will be a long-term tool!

MakeZine.com

This looks like an awesome magazine; it's all about how to make fun things, and how things are made. For example, they show you how to make an inexpensive home camera "steadycam" for about $16, and how to re-use old gadgets. For example, they show you how to install Linux on an old iPod and turn it into an inexpensive MP3 recorder.

I'll definitely be subscribing!

The winners of the 2005 Engadget Awards! - Engadget

This is a great summary of the gadgets of the year, including both the Engadget staff picks as well as reader's choices. For some weird reason they didn't see fit to put links to the gadgets in the article, however--grrrr.

WebServUSB: world’s smallest Web Server on a USB Flash Drive

The march of USB drive applications continues--WebServ makes a USB drive that comes pre-loaded with a Web server. Price is $89-$399 depending on capacity, and the beauty is that you don't need to install anything on the PC (other than the USB drive itself) to get a Web server up and running on it ASAP. Great idea!

Heil PR-40: perhaps the ultimate Podcasting mic

One of my favorite podcasts is TWIT: "This Week in Tech", which is a weekly broadcast hosted by Leo Laporte. I have been very impressed with the audio quality of the show, which is comparable to FM broadcast quality--even more impressive is the fact that they do many of their recordings over Skype!

I remembered during one of the TWIT broadcasts that they had discussed a new microphone that there were using: the Heil PR40, and I decided to check it out. This is a professional quality microphone, but at an amateur price: $325 suggested list (OK, so a *serious* amateur!).

Since we are about to embark on a series of podcasts of our own at Proxima, I have insisted that we invest in a decent set of equipment, including microphones and a mixer. Fortunately, the price of this type of gear has dropped quite a bit over the past few years, so I think we can get set up to produce a decent podcast for less than $1000, including all of the various pieces of software that we'll need.

The biggest challenge is going to be around convincing the people that will be on our podcasts that they need to use a decent mic setup; while shipping PR40s to everyone is not a reality, we could purchase some inexpensive ($40) USB headsets for people to use.

I will be sure to document my experiences as a first-time podcast producer in the space in the coming weeks and months. I'm really looking forward to it!

Apple introduces $149 iPod nano, cuts price on Shuffle

Apple today unveiled a $149 iPod nano and reduced the price on the shuffle to $69 and $99 (512mb and 1GB, respectively). While I suppose there is still a place for the Shuffle at the low end of the spectrum, it seems to me that its' days are numbered.

The 1GB Nano will hold around 240 songs and, like the other Nanos, does not support video.

Inventor develops 'artificial gills': "An Israeli inventor has developed an underwater breathing system that literally squeezes oxygen directly from seawater, doing away with the need for compressed air tanks."

While this hasn't been productized in any way, it definitely shows promise for the future. Imagine diving without tanks!

Sling Gets $46.6M in Funding: "Sling Media, which makes a set-top box that allows users to access their television programs, music, and pictures from their laptops and other mobile devices, said Monday it has secured $46.6 million in a second round of financing."

Yowsa! Looks like we're going to be seeing many more SlingBoxes around. If they just combine a DVR with their technology, they'd have a killer app IMHO.

Digital Cameras Around $600

Evaluation of Digital Cameras around $600

• Introduction

The world of digital imaging has grown by leaps and bounds over the past couple of years. Five years ago, $600 would barely buy you a digital camera (we paid around $750 for a 3 megapixel Sony camera in 2000--a 3 megapixel camera today is around $100--or even less).  The good news is that today, $600 will buy you one heckuva nice camera, as you'll see.

• What Type of Camera Do I Need?

So what do you need to know about digital cameras? There are really two basic things: the resolution (measured in millions of dots, or megapixels), and the type of camera (point-and-shoot or digital single lens reflex, or DSLR). Both types of cameras mirror their counterparts in the analog (film) world--the big advantage of DSLRs is that you can generally change lenses, and the overall quality of DSLR cameras is better, as they appeal to professional and so-called "ProAm" (professional amateur) markets. In general, unless you have a specific need for an DSLR, such as if you're a hobbyist or know quite a bit about photography, and point-and-shoot camera is just fine. There is also a major price advantage in going with a point-and-shoot over an DSLR; you get more "bang for your buck" with a point-and-shoot camera. For example, a 6 megapixel DSLR costs $700-$1000 (not including lenses!), whereas a 6 megapixel point-and-shoot camera costs in the $300-$400 range.

• Megapixels!

The first, most important feature of any digital camera is the megapixel rating. As mentioned previously, each megapixel equals a million dots, or pixels, and generally speaking, the more megapixels, the better. There is an analog between the number of megapixels in a digital camera and the film speed in an analog camera--100 ASA film is roughly equivalent to 25 megapixels, so film cameras still provide much clearer images--under certain circumstances. If you are mostly printing small images (say 8x10 or smaller), any digital camera over 4 megapixels or so will yield satisfactory prints. What the higher quantity of pixels buys you is the ability to zoom and crop in on certain portions of a picture and still print a decent-looking image. It also goes without saying that if you decide to print even larger pictures--like 11x17--you'll definitely want a high megapixel camera (8 or better, if possible). What happens when you try to print too large of an image with too few pixels is that the image gets very blurry--it's called pixelation--and generally just looks awful.As a general rule-of-thumb, given today's price-performance ratios, that a minimum of 6 megapixels should be acceptable for most consumer applications, although going as low as 4 megapixels is fine for taking snapshots.

• Other Features to Consider

Besides megapixels, there are a few other features to consider in a digital camera:

1. Red-eye reduction: the camera's ability to "pre-flash" before taking the actual exposure, which reduces the red-eye effect when using the flash in dark environments


2. Exposure programs: most cameras have the ability to switch to different programs for different uses--sports, for example, is used when taking pictures of fast-moving subjects


3. Setup and recycle time: older digital cameras suffered from a lengthy setup and recycle time. This means that the time between turning the camera on and taking the first picture (setup time) was as much as 5-10 seconds, and the recycle time (time between taking pictures) was also very long--as much as 2-3 seconds. This effectively prevented any sort of spontaneous photos! Newer cameras generally have setup times less than 2 seconds and recycle times less than a second, but it doesn't hurt to check it out.


4. Storage medium: all digital cameras have re-usable, removable storage media (sometimes called 'digital film') that allow you to store images on a card-like device. When the card fills up, you can insert a blank one and keep shooting. You can also insert the cards directly into a computer and some printers in order to transfer the images over (for making prints and saving the images). The main differential between camera brands in this area is the type of card they use--there are three main formats: memory stick (Sony), secure digital (also known as SD or xD) (multiple vendors) and compact flash (known as CF--also used by multiple vendors). Of the three, memory sticks are the most expensive, due to the fact that Sony exclusively owns the rights to them. SD cards are the smallest, and CF cards are the cheapest. I prefer either memory stick or SD.


5. Storage capacity: when buying memory cards, buy the biggest one you can afford, and be sure to factor in the cost of the card into your budget. Keep in mind that the higher the number of megapixels your camera has, the bigger the images will be (in bytes, which is how images are stored), and therefore the less pictures you'll be able to store on a card. A general rule-of-thumb is to estimate 2 megabytes per image (some will be smaller, some will be bigger), and divide the size of the card by 2 to get an estimate of the number of pictures you can store on it. Bear in mind that digital cameras have one HUGE advantage: you can delete bad pictures right after you take them, freeing up that space on the memory card. So the number of pictures you calculate will be 'good' pictures. For example, a 512 megabyte memory card will store around 256 good photos--more than enough for most vacations, although you might want to spring for a 1 gigabyte (1000 megabyte) just to be safe. At the time of this writing, a 1 gigabyte card will cost between $50 and $100, so it's not a huge investment (in the grand scheme of things).


6. Brand: just as with film cameras, certain brands are better than others in digital. As a general rule, companies that made good film cameras also make good digital cameras. My favorite brands are Sony, Nikon, Canon, and Minolta. I would recommend you stay away from Kodak, and use caution with some Olympus cameras.


7. Batteries: some digital cameras have proprietary rechargeable batteries; others have rechargable standard batteries (like AAs), and yet others take regular alkaline batteries. In general, alkaline batteries last longer than rechargeable batteries, and they're readily available if the camera runs out of juice. Rechargeables are generally more environmentally friendly and are probably more economical over the long term. In the end, it's up to the buyer's preference, but take into account how you're going to use the camera (e.g. how accessable power outlets will be when the camera runs out of juice!)


8. Zoom: there are two types of zoom on most digital cameras: optical and digital. Optical is best--it involves a real glass lens doing the zooming. Digital zoom uses the extra megapixel resolution in the camera to zoom in--which means that you're giving up overall image quality whenever the digital zoom kicks in. The disadvantage of optical zoom is that the lens needs to be extended in order to zoom--so cameras with a lot of optical zoom tend to be larger, whereas digital zoom takes no room at all. In general, optical zoom of at least '10x' (that means 10 times normal) or greater is good, and try to get to most optical zoom possible in the size and weight that you desire in a camera.


9. Movies: many digital cameras today also have the ability to take moving images, or movies. The quality of the movies these cameras take are vastly inferior to even the cheapest camcorders, so don't consider them a replacement for a conventional camcorder. That said, the ability to take movies is a nice feature, as there are many times when a camcorder isn't available, and it's great to be able to take movies. Another advantage of these types of movies is that when you transfer them to the camera, they're already in digital form, and as such they're easy to email.


10. Interface: the method that the camera uses to connect to a PC. Most cameras use USB, which is virtually ubiquitous on PCs and Macs,  but be aware that there are two versions of USB: 1.x and 2.x. USB 2.x is far faster than 1.x, although computers older than 2003 or so are probably only USB 1.x. Cameras that support USB 2.x will work on older USB 1.x computers--they'll just transfer photos much slower. If possible, buy a camera with a USB 2.x interface (most are nowadays, but it doesn't hurt to double-check).


11. AV output: allows you to connect the camera to an external TV for viewing pictures and movies. A nice feature, especially on vacations when you want to show the whole family the pictures you've taken.

• Recommended Cameras

All of the cameras below are in the $500 range; add a decent memory card and some accessories, and you're right in the $600 range.

• Point-and-Shoot


• Nikon Coolpix P1, about $550: 8 megapixel, 3.5x optical/4x digital (14x total) zoom, automatic and manual modes, red eye reduction, movie mode, built-in "WiFi" allows camera to connect to wireless networks and transfer photos (really nice feature!), very fast recycle time, xD memory cards, movie mode, 6 oz weight, AV outputs, USB interface (didn't specify which version, but probably 2.x)


• Canon Powershot S80, about $550: 8 megapixel, 3.6x optical/4x digital (14x total) zoom, many exposure modes, red eye reduction, movie mode, xD memory cards, USB 2.0, 7.9 oz weight, AV output, nice small form factor.


• Sony DSC-N1, about $500: 8.1 megapixel, 3x optical/6x digital (18x total) zoom, many exposure modes, red eye reduction, movie mode, memory stick storage, USB 2.0, 5.5 oz weight, rechargeable proprietary batteries, AV output.


• DSLRs


• There are no DSLRs that fall into this price range; they start around $800 and go up from there.

• Summary and recommendations

I really like the features of the Nikon Coolpix P1 and the Canon Powershot S80; they're very similar in basic features, although the Nikon is lighter and has the WiFi feature. You also can't go wrong with the Sony; all three are strong cameras that will do a nice job. I'd highly recommend that you go into Best Buy to try them all out before you buy, to make sure that you like the feel of the camera and the controls, etc. Good luck!

How to Take Great Photos of an Electronics Product with a Digital Camera

Great tips!

Anywhere, Anytime TV

This is a really good review of ten next generation "anytime, anywhere" digital video recorders (DVRs), including TivoToGo and Slingbox.

How-To: Build a practical HTPC perfect for MythTV

This is a HOWTO that describes building the perfect PC for running Myth, all for about a grand. It seems to me that you could build one for a lot less than that..just buy one of the cheapie Dell boxes that go on special from time to time and put a TV tuner card in it...but that's the easy way, which isn't exactly the point!

Fedora Myth(TV)ology

Good site that describes how to get MythTV running on Fedora.

MythTV

This is a free Linux-based Tivo alternative (well, not exactly free--you need a PC to run it on, but you can build/buy one for pretty cheap, especially since Myth apparently runs on down to a 500 Mhz single processor box). In addition to Tivo functionality, Myth has some really nice features, like automatic commercial detection/skip and the ability to actually move the programs to another device (like an iPod). You can also use it to rip DVDs ono the PC and watch them just like TV programming.

Very cool!

Western Digital Caviar SE 320GB 3.5" IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM at Newegg.com

$119-no rebates. This is a one-day deal, so you'd better order quick!

hacks.oreilly.com -- O'Reilly Hacks Series

This is a great compendium of hacks for all sorts of devices and platforms.

Axbo Alarm Clock helps you wake up feeling refreshed

Hmm...might be worth a try. This alarm clock helps to make sure that you wake up at the right stage of your sleep cycle. Too bad it's going to be around $250! Ouch.

VoipSpeak - Phoenix Audio Duet PCS Review

A review of the Phoenix USB speakerphone reinforces the old saying that you get what you pay for--the $200 Phoenix unit works really well. I think this is exactly what anyone that's making heavy use of Skype should have.

Duet PCS USB Speakerphone: Skype conferencing

This looks to be just what people that need to do a conference with Skype should have; much higher quality than the $40 unit I purchased last year.