Computer Hardware/Accessories

Posted by Chad Criswell

Okay, I don't think I would want this giant thing sitting in front of my computer all day long, but the idea is in general a good one. This high tech treadmill connects to a PC to allow a user to walk through the environment of your favorite games while still being able to control the various parts of the game by using attached hand controls. It is similar to an idea called the GamerSize PC Sport that fits quietly under your desk, but unlike the FPGameRunner the GamerSize PC Sport does not provide you with the ability to interact with any games as yet. It will, however keep track of your exercise routine and is a lot easier to move around the office.

Posted by Chad Criswell

There is nothing worse than the horror of having a hard drive fail and losing all of your precious digital photos or videos that were stored on it. Backing up is not a huge hassle, but for many people remembering to do so and then followign through with it are still difficult to do. Memorex has now come out with a special DVD that they are calling the SimpleSave which has backup software already on it. When a user pops the SimpleSave disc into their computer the backup software automatically loads and begins to copy all of the photos and videos on the hard drive to the DVD. The disc can hold thousands of photos or hours of compressed video files. For those who have trouble remembering to back up their hard drive the new SimpleSave may be just the ticket to save those previous memories with little or no hassle involved.

Posted by Chad Criswell

HP is a great company that has come out with many useful innovations over the years. They are most well known for their printers (and a dismally unsuccessful PC line) but now they have come out with a printer that has one more feature that you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else. They have combined a traditional multifunction printer with copy, fax, and printing capabilities with a high speed, dual layer DVD burner. All of which are controlled by buttons on the printer or through software on the connected PC. The burner is able to use Lightscribe technology to burn labels onto specially designed blank media discs. It also has ports for all of the common media card formats as well. No idea if you can burn directly from these cards to the burner or not. Although it may seem strange at first the idea of combining all of these devices into one is actually a very good thing. I'd love to get ahold of one to do a review on it, but sadly I bet these are going to be a very hot commodity over the next few months.

Posted by Chad Criswell

Each time a new generation of media storage comes out it takes a while for the technology to mature. In the case of Blu-Ray DVD burners, until now 2x write speeds have been the norm. At that rate it takes as much as 45 minutes to burn 25 gigabytes of data to a standard Blu-Ray recordable disc. Now a few manufacturers have come out with 4x burners, effectively halving the amount of time it takes to burn a full BD-R disc. LaCie is one of the most recent, with their new "d2" drive burns both 25 gig and 50 gig Blu-Ray Recordable discs and comes with ports for both Firewire and USB connections. Of course, that degree of speed and convenience will cost a pretty penny. Street price at the moment is in the neighborhood of $649.00.

Source: Lacie.com

Posted by Chad Criswell

One of the easiest ways to use a traditional telephone with Skype is to use a USB based adaptor such as the CU Free Echo Free USB Phone Adaptor. This matchbook sized USB key has two standard telephone ports on one end, allowing the user to connect a traditional telephone as well as connect to an incoming land line circuit. Using the adaptor and included software, calls coming into the home on the old land line are routed to the telephone handsets as normal, but outgoing long distance calls are automatically routed through the computer and the Skype service. The Echo Free adaptor also includes other useful functions such as 3 way conference calling and call forwarding to a cell phone or any desired phone number.

Posted by Chad Criswell

Skype and other Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services use a person’s computer to make cheap long distance telephone calls using a high speed Internet connection. New accessories are now available that allows a person to use their traditional land line phone in conjunction with the computer based Skype services instead of a computer headset or dedicated Skype phone. There are many different options available for users that want to connect a land line phone to a computer, all with varying degrees of features.

Posted by Chad Criswell

Have you ever had the problem of running out of space on your DVR's hard drive? Having to make the choice between continuing to record Oprah each day or deleting your husband's classic Indiana Jones movies can lead to frustration and possible divorce. Seagate announced today a new device that one might call a long overdue accessory for many different DVR systems. A one terrabyte external storage drive that will plug and play with many existing DVR units adding days of additional recording time to the unit.

Seagate is calling the new storage drive the Seagate Showcase, and is working with manufacturers such as Motorola to update software to be able to utilize the new drives simply by plugging in an enhanced serial ATA cable into the back of the existing DVR. Seagate hopes to ship the unit sometime after June of 2008.

Posted by Chad Criswell

Using a media center computer with a full sized keyboard and mouse is not the most convenient solution. Even wireless keyboards can be difficult to deal with as their size and useful range can be a great hinderance on someone who simply wants to watch a movie or play a quick game of solitare on a 42 inch LCD screen (who wouldn't?) Now Logitech has come out with a great solution that fits in the palm of your hand.

The Logitech diNovo Mini is a small, clam shell style keyboard with a built in mouse that connects via Bluetooth to a computer. The convenience and small size of the DiNovo make it a great choice for anyone that has a media center computer. Moreover, because it works with Bluetooth it also works with portable devices as well. Windows Mobile computers and smartphones can connect with the DiNovo to allow the user to quickly enter information on a keyboard that is actually comfortable to type on. The price is a rather hefty $145 from vendors such as Brando, but you can't put a price on convenience, can you?

Posted by Chad Criswell

For amateur podcasters, musicians, or anyone that needs to record high quality digital audio and download it quickly and easily into a computer, the PockeTrak 2G from Yamaha is an excellent choice. I've been playing around with a demo unit for a week now, recording conversations, meetings, and professional music concerts and have been very impressed with not only the ease of use but also the overall quality of the recording that comes from the unit's diminutive stereo speakers.

The PockeTrak is only slightly longer than an iPod nano and about twice as thick. Inside this small package can be stored up to three hours of high quality WAV format recordings recorded either through the built in microphones or through an external microphone using a 1/4 inch jack. The unit has multiple folders built into the software, allowing a user to file recordings in different places according to their subject. Users can also use the recorder as a portable media device, uploading MP3 tracks to the unit for playback either through the tinny sounding internal speaker or through external headphones or a stereo system. Music can be played through a computer's media software directly from the drive which includes a slide out USB connection.

Posted by Chad Criswell

Podcasting is incredibly popular these days and getting started as an amateur broadcaster could not be easier. Using the equipment and software that comes bundled with your computer a person can produce a decent quality podcast with almost no difficulty. For those that want a little more quality and control however, Behringer has released its Podcast Studio, an all-in-one podcasting package that includes headphones, microphone, stand, mixer, and cables for around $150. The audio quality is probably far better than what a user would get with Microsoft Sound Recorder or if using the cheap microphone that comes with most PCs.