Joy of Gadgets

Keyboards are a rather personal thing. You either like them or you don’t and there is plenty of wiggle room depending on what is important to you.

Adesso’s PR firm sent me a Wireless Media Center Keyboard with Optical Trackball to review. It is geared for people with media center PCs, though it works ok with my Mac as well.

The unit comes with a USB dongle that blinks blue whenever you push keys on your keyboard. It communicates with the keyboard over 2.4 Ghz, which is also used by Bluetooth and WiFi. I haven’t noticed any interference problems as of yet, but the keyboard and mouse are less than 1 foot apart in my normal usage. Supposedly it works up to 100 feet away, but unless you had Frank’s 2000 inch TV hooked up to your computer, I doubt you could actually see what you were typing on the computer from that far away.

The keyboard has some media keys to control audio, the TV channel, and the volume. Surprisingly, most of these keys actually work on iTunes on the Mac just fine. The channel buttons seem to function as a sort of page-up/page-down kind of thing. There are also a row of 8 buttons along the top that don’t appear to do anything on the Mac, but are supposedly for Windows Media Center .

The other important feature this keyboard has is a track bar, scroll wheel, and mouse. They work well enough, but I would have preferred the buttons to be to either side of the trackball (e.g. for left and right clicks) instead of being on the opposite side of the keyboard from the trackball!

I find that certain keys on this keyboard tend to require a bit more force to ensure they register properly, like the right shift key and the spacebar. This is not a unique problem to this keyboard as I find that many modern keyboards suffer from this “mushmellow” syndrome. I also find some keys are put in somewhat odd spots, which often happens when keyboards are made smaller.

What’s the verdict for $74.99 US? I like the wire-free operation, but it’s not necessary as I’m usually sitting at a desk anyway. I’m also not as big on controlling media from my keyboard. It would be great for that, of course, but its not something I do with my computer on a regular basis. It’s not a great fit for me, but if I needed a keyboard for a media center PC, I’d consider getting this one.

For a while now, the family computers were connected to the Internet using a couple of WiFi routers: one was in a WDS Mesh with my router upstairs in my office. The other router was simply a client set up in Client Bridge mode. All of the routers were Linksys WRT54G(S) running DD-WRT 2.4 SP1.

When I first set this up, I spent roughly two weeks diddling with it and finally got something stable. It generally stayed that way, though periodically, I’d experience random dropouts and other weirdness. The past several days, the WDS mesh would simply fail for no reason and despite my best efforts, I could not bring it up again.

I replaced my Linksys in my office with a UTM-1 EDGE W device I picked up from the office. This is an industrial strength firewall with WiFi, anti-virus at the gateway, and a lot of other cool security features in something about the size of a typical Linksys/D-Link router. I’m sure costs more than what most people want to spend on a router, given enterprises buy hundreds of them and manage them centrally. Home users can get a lot of the same functionality in the ZoneAlarm Z100G Secure Wireless Router for $150 shipped to your door (sorry, US and Canada only).

Unfortunately, this didn’t solve my WDS problem since the EDGE gateway does WDS differently than the Linksys boxes. I set both Linksys routers downstairs into Client Bridge mode temporarily, which allowed the Internet to work, albeit a little more slowly. Unfortunately, this is still not reliable as the WiFi periodically cuts out downstairs.

Today, I trekked over to Frys Electronics and picked up some HomePlug AV gear from TRENDnet (specifically the TRENDnet Tpl-302E2K 200Mbps Powerline Av Ethernet Adapter Kit and TRENDnet Tpl-302E 200Mbps Powerline Av Ethernet Adapter B Class). D-Link, Belkin, and Netgear also make this equipment, but I opted for the TRENDnet gear for one simple reason: I could buy a single TRENDNet HomePlug AV receiver. I needed 3 of them and the price for a pair was, at minimum, $120.

Setup was pretty easy, if you follow the included QuickStart guide. The TRENDnet software tool for configuring these devices (which, unfortunately, requires Windows) was able to find all three of my devices right away. It took me almost no time to get the devices connected together and passing traffic. One of the devices is plugged in near my router upstairs, the other two are downstairs in different rooms.

There are, of course, some limitations with these devices:

• The device–which is much larger than our typical wall-wort–partially blocks the other outlet. I found it worked if I used the top outlet and had the “bottom” facing upward.
• The device absolutely must be plugged in directly to the wall for it to work (i.e. no powerstrips).
• A maximum of 16 devices is supported.
• All devices must be on the same circuit breaker. This basically means you can only use these devices within a single dwelling.

While the TRENDnet Utility shows my devices not getting anywhere near the stated 200mb/s maximum throughput–the spec says the max data throughput is actually 150mb/s–I am getting anywhere from 10mb to 30mb/s to and from my locations. It’s at least as good as the WiFi link if not better as it’s more stable. I wish the price would come down a bit, but it’s still cheaper than cutting up drywall and adding in the necessary outlets.

(Crossposted from http://phoneboy.com/3013/ditching-the-wds-mesh-and-going-homeplug-av)

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Sometimes, simple is good. And in the ScreenPlay TV Link from iomega, that’s exactly what you have. A simple device that you can hook up to any TV–component, composite, and SCART connections included–and play video files off of a USB drive, be it flash or a portable hard drive. If you have a HDTV, you can also hook it up with HDMI, but the cable isn’t included in the package.

What I had been doing to watch videos on my TV was to bring my MacBook down to my living room, hook it up with a Mini-DVI to composite cable, and use Front Row or Boxee to navigate my way to my videos to play. Works, but it’s a bit bulky and the video quality wasn’t always great.

This device works better. I did have a little difficulty when I first hooked it up, most likely because I have a nearly 20 year old television, but the included quickstart manual tells you how to resolve this problem. Shortly, I had a screen showing me a list of some of the movies I had shoved onto a USB thumb drive and plugged into the back of the unit. I could easily navigate with the remote control and select a video for viewing.

Why didn’t I have all the movies listed on my screen? They all weren’t encoded properly. The ScreenPlay TV Link doesn’t support every video encoding format, but it does support several common ones, including DivX and directories straight from a DVD!

After reencoding the videos that weren’t displaying on the list, I tried again. They were all there and played on my ancient TV in excellent quality!

Certainly there are other, more capable devices out there, but for what I need, this is perfect for both my home use and when I travel. It even includes interchangeable power prongs for US, UK, and EU use! I just wish it came with a small travel bag, but beyond that, it’s a fantastic buy!

(Originally posted ScreenPlay TV Link from iomega)

I will admit that I’ve thought a device like a Chumbymight be kind of a cool nightstand clock. It provides a lot of functionality at your fingertips and has kind of a cool form factor.The thought of dropping $200 or more on a handheld gadget is not something I like to do. It also seemed quite wasteful when much of the functionality I want can be had with a device I already own: the Nokia N800 tablet.

What you see here is the home screen of my NokiaN800, which has all the information on it I need 98% of the time: the current time and the weather. The clock is a program called cairoclock, which is an applet that appears on the home screen. It’s resizable and movable.

The weather is an applet called omweather, which I configured to pull the 3-day forecast for Gig Harbor (and those temperatures are in Fahrenheit, also configurable).

The IP information is courtesy of the HomeIP applet. Good for “just in case” I need to SSH into the tablet (I have Dropbear SSH installed).

The only other thing I configured on it is a bookmark for the one site I’m likely to need to look at while in bed: the website for the local school district. They post school closure/delay information on the front page.

Granted, the tablet can do a lot more. However, for a nightstand device, that’s really all I want. If I need to do anything more serious, there’s always my office just down the hall

(Originally posted at Nokia N800: What’s on YOUR Nightstand?)

I really, really like the guys at PhoneNews.com. They post a lot of hard-hitting stories about mobile phone industry. They are also trying to go ad-free by running a rather peculiar promotion–buy a refurbed Nokia 2610 from AT&T for $0.01 after rebate. If 10,000 orders come in by the end of February 2009, the site will take down its ads. Sweet!

I have no reason to believe the guys from PhoneNews.com aren’t on the up-and-up here, but go to their post and follow the directions there! Even if you don’t get your rebate for some reason, $9.99 for an AT&T phone shipped to your door with $10 in airtime is a steal!

The Nokia 2610 is very much a low-end, no-frills phone. Great phone to have for a backup! (Nokia still pays my paycheck at the moment, so you might want to take my words with a small grain of salt.

I was watching my 4 year old watch Pokemon on the computer the other day (pictured here, playing Racquetball), when I had a rather startiling realization: she can figure out how to get the computer to show what she wants, yet can’t operate the televison.

Our televisions at home are relatively simple 19 inch ones from 1991 that cost about $300. They still work good, but the buttons are falling off and we’ve long since lost or replaced the original remotes with universal ones. They are not particularly hard to operate, but that assumes you can read, which my daughter can’t do yet.

Every time I go to someone’s house and attempt to use their TV, I feel like I need to take lessons in how to watch TV. Even with a Universal remote, it still a rather confusing series of steps just to get a picture on the screen. Heaven help you if you want to watch a DVD.

In addition to our old TVs, we opt for cable that came from the 1970s: (mostly) broadcast channels only. The kids can watch PBS and we can watch the few network shows. No Nickelodeon or Disney Channel to infect my brats with High School Musical. The total cost: $15/mo, which is about what I value televison at. It is most certainly not the $100+ a month the cable companies charge for access to all channels in HD.

Even if I had all the channels, who is to say what’s on when you want to watch? Yes, I know you can get on-demand or a Tivo, but that just adds extra cost to something I already consider to be of marginal value anyway. Not to mention the added complexity of owning one of these devices and integrating it into your home audio/video system.

Meanwhile, watching what you want, when you want, is so simple a four year old can figure out how to do it. It’s legal, it doesn’t require complicated TV setups or cost any extra money, beyond the Internet connection I am already paying for. What’s not to like?

Tuesday, I received my white Nokia E71. The phone’s been out a while, as I’m sure anyone who follows a Gadget blog or reads Wired can tell you. Since I work for Nokia, you should realize the following is my own opinion on the Nokia E71 NAM, i.e. E71-2, RM-357, or at least one other name I’m not allowed to use in public.

The first thing I noticed when I opened my package was how small the box is compared to even the N96 I received not too long ago. It’s about half the size. Inside the box, pretty much everything inside that wasn’t shrinkwrapped was cardboard instead of plastic, making the packaging a lot more recyclable. Very green, even if the inside of my box is mostly black

Inside the box, I got the phone, battery, 2.5mm stereo headphones–more on that in a minute–power adapter, micro USB cable, manual, CD. Pretty much everything I expect to come with the phone, though the matching wrist strap and carry case were nice bonuses.

I had seen and even handled some pre-release versions of this handset, but they are never as good as the production units. This one felt wonderful. Solid construction, not too big. The keys are crammed together, but it’s pretty easy to push the right ones.

Continue reading ‘The Nokia E71 NAM: The Good, Bad, and Uglyrgb’

I think my kids might like this just for the colors. However, this keyboard from KeyRight isn’t colorful “just because.” The colors tell you what keys your different fingers should hit for the most optimal typing experience and supposedly are 192% more effective than without the colors.

The keyboard along with the included typing tutor program is supposed to increase your typing speeds in as little as 6 hours. PC or Mac compatible. For people who aren’t touch typists and want to be, $39.99 is a small price to pay.

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There’s a lot of water in the air, waiting to be claimed. For places that have water issues, bringing that water out of their air and into your body would certainly be nice.

That’s exactly what the WaterMill claims to: convert between 10% and 40% of that water vapor into clear, clean, drinkable water. To the tune of 12 liters a day. And it should do real well in places that need it, too.

I will have to admit, I’m having a hard time buying the claims of Element Four. The part that concerns me is that extracting upwards of 40% from the air worldwide likely will have some impact, whether or not the folks from Element Four think so or not. I also wonder how much electricity issded by the WaterMill as well. Not so much for me, of course, but certainly the intended recipients will care.

The product is now available as of yet. The store link for the side gives a message saying they will open Summer 2008. Hate to break it to you, but we’re half way through fall. Where’s the store? What’s it cost?

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Ok, this really isn’t a gadget. It’s a shirt. But it has meaning to anyone who grew up on the West Coast of the U.S. over the last several decades.

While trying to figure out why the hell gas has dropped to below $2 in my neck of the woods–not that I’m complaining, mind you–I discovered yet another victim of the global economic implosion: Mother’s Cookies.

I know that over the years, I’ve eaten my share of these little animal cookies covered in frosting and sprinkles. They weren’t something I had all the time, being a treat and all, but damn, they were good. They were part of growing up.

Unfortunately, Mother’s Cookies had to shut their doors in October of 2008 thanks to the rising costs of fuel, flour, butter and sugar. Oh, and of course, the ability to find credit.

Meanwhile, you can commemorate these tasty little cookies by purchasing this shirt from Cloth Moth for $25.