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In: Reviews
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66 Audio is a Los Angeles based start-up focused on sports-oriented over-the-ear headphones with great customer support. I’m an active runner and audio enthusiast and I’ve had poor experiences with other Bluetooth sports headphones. So I was extremely interested when I was contact by 66 Audio and asked if I’d like to test their BTS Sport headphones. But to be clear, when my review is complete, I’m going to return the sample headphones back to 66 Audio. This isn’t a “free product bribe” review. So with that out of the way, let’s get to the review! What I liked: Useful Design and light weight. IRead More →

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In: Reviews, Triathlon
With: 78 Comments

In September 2008, I reviewed the Jaybird JB200 Bluetooth headphones to great disappointment. Just over 4 years later, Jaybird released their latest model, the Jaybird Bluebuds X, with some pretty impressive claims on sound quality, fit, and battery life. The cord on my Klipsch S4i Rugged headphones are my only complaint with them, but it’s a big one. So I found a nearby Bestbuy that had the Bludbuds X in stock and picked-up a pair to see how the new model stacks up. Update 18-March-2013:  An hour and twenty minutes into my run, my headphones died – permanently. The battery was well over 50% charged.Read More →

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In: Reviews
With: 44 Comments

Western Digital MyBook Elite external hard drives use hardware-based encryption chips to (optionally) encrypt drives using 256-bit encryption. This is OK for security, but horrible for data recovery.  It is impossible to access (decrypt) the drive if the enclosure circuit board fails, even if the drive itself is fine.  For this reason, I highly recommend not using the hardware-based encryption unless you have a solid off-site backup plan, such as Backblaze. What if the Enclosure Fails? If you’ve enabled the hardware-based encryption, the data on the drive is completely inaccessible without the encryption chip in the Western Digital enclosure. So a simple failure of theRead More →

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In: Reviews
With: 3 Comments

I purchased a MSI Wind netbook (i.e. small, cheap laptop) for my wife to use as her personal surfing-the-internet device. Overall, I’m very pleased with the performace and size, making it perfect for casual use.  Here are my pros and cons lists: Pros: Small Size: I knew this was going to be a tiny little PC, but I was still surprised by the diminutive size when I took it out of the box.  The Wind can be packed away in pretty much any bag and you don’t even know it’s there. Nice Appearance: The glossy black plastic looks quite nice for a PC in thisRead More →

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In: Home Theater, Reviews
With: 2 Comments

I just unboxed and installed my Vudu XL evaluation unit, connected it to the flat panel TV in my family room, and started played around with it.  Here are my initial thoughts: This is a very nice looking set top box; possibly the most attractive design I’ve seen, with lots of glossy, high-quality plastic. The bottom of the unit even has a nice textured pattern on it. It’s unexpectedly heavy.  This is not a thin sheet metal enclosure with a tiny circuit board inside.  It feels solid, dense, and well constructed. It passed my easy of installation test: I didn’t need to consult the installRead More →

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In: Reviews
With: 5 Comments

After a couple of years of searching for a great deal on HermanMiller Aeron chairs, my wife finally found one, and we’ve been enjoying them for the past 8 months. Unfortunately, her chair developed a crack in the back (most likely due to mis-assembly by the store.) I feared an expensive repair, but started searching for parts anyway. I came across the website ChairMD.com and found out that it might be possible to have the back replaced under warranty. All HermanMiller chairs are covered by a 12-year warranty. So I filled-out the warranty request form on their site. They provided a diagram chair so thatRead More →

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In: Reviews
With: 2 Comments

Like Dave Zatz and Matt Miller, I made the leap into the netbook pool with a new MSI Wind. Technically, I guess I really made my wife take the leap. She has been in disparate need of her own personal laptop as I am just too overprotective of and particular about my ThinkPad T61. What I really wanted to buy her was a top-of-the-line MacBook, but we just couldn’t justify the price.  (Even with the Live.com cash back, the lowest price I could find was $1,300.)  After reading several blog posts and listening to a couple of podcasts, I got the idea to purchase aRead More →

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In: Reviews
With: 8 Comments

I’ve been searching for some wireless headphone to use while watching video on my iPhone when on the treadmill. My objective is to not have a cord connected between me and my iPhone – I don’t want to accidentally knock off my iPhone and damage it. After comparing options, I was excited to try the Jaybird JB200 Bluetooth headset. So I headed to my local Target and purchased a pair. Here are my findings: Pros: Wireless design Smallest wireless headphones on the market Does not completely block outside noise (so you can still hear traffic if you’re running/biking) Lifetime guarantee against failure from sweat intrusionRead More →

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In: Reviews
With: 38 Comments

About 6 months ago, I started my search for a wireless network camera that would allow us to watch our little girl while she slept (or didn’t sleep) in her crib.  My list of requirements were pretty simple: I wanted it to work in complete darkness and I wanted it to work with the Firefox web browser. My search turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated, as pretty much every camera from every major vendor (such as Linksys) was Windows Internet Explorer-only and most of them didn’t have Infra-Red lights for night-mode usage. Additionally, many camera models had very negative reviews due toRead More →

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In: Reviews

I’ve read many glowing summaries of the new iPhone 3G. And I agree with all of them. I can’t wait to get one myself on July 11. However, despite Steve Jobs claiming that Apple listened to customers to incorporate everything missing from the first generation iPhone, there are still a few misses. Here’s my list of what I wish would have also been included in the Apple iPhone 3G. MMS – It’s still not possible to send pictures to other cell phones. Sure, you can e-mail pictures, but the iPhone is a cell phone and should include the ability to send picture messages to otherRead More →