Do You Hear What I Hear?
Several of my friends had standing orders to shoot me if I EVER started wearing a bluetooth earpiece. Just a clean shot below the left shoulder … I mean … I love me some Star Trek, but even I know that communicators should not be worn on the clothes or an appendage — if one is to remain all fashy. Plus, for a while it was easy to avoid — one of the most miserable people I have ever met had one “welded” to the lobe and looked really ridiculous 24/7. So that helped me abstain.
Then it happened. I got an iPhone and Apple had the tiniest bluetooth accessory I had seen. They sucked me in … and I rather like it. It also brings me great joy to think that the tiny black strip of an earpiece looks like I have a piece of electrical tape stuck to the side of my face. One guy told me it looked like I had Hitler’s mustache for a sideburn. Anyway … looks aside, I must confess they are pretty cool, if worn to a minimum … in traffic … busy airports when you have a couple of bags in tow, etc.
So, with this batch of product reviews, I want to stop right there. My Apple piece is the bar by which all other earpiece’s will be judged. And I found a good one to compare. The Jawbone. It’s pretty lightweight, but alas, slightly more bulky than the “Hitler mustache.” That’s not all bad. It has the hook to swing behind the ear for added fashion sensibility. So how does it work? Quite nicely. I decided to do the pocket proximity test. No problems with the Jawbone in that regard. You see, with my iPhone, iFound that the phone unit must be pretty close to the earpiece … or you get an angry little buzzing sound. So, my thoughts of leaving the phone in the kitchen while shooting at squirrels out on the balcony were dashed with the Apple set up. To test the Jawbone, I paired it with the Blackberry 8820 I carry (from T-Mobile). No squirrels lost their lives in the making of this blog.
Check it out at:
The Jawbone piece was up and running in no time. The sound quality was good, and I am told the second-hand user on the other end of the conversation actually preferred the Jawbone to the Apple piece. I guess it makes some sense logically. The Jawbone is a little longer, and shaped differently, so perhaps it stretches a little closer to the pie hole. Or maybe I was just speaking more clearly that day … Who knows? With any cell phone conversation, there are only about a million variables that might adversely affect the call. The Jawbone comes with a very slick set of collateral and packaging … almost like a fancy men’s fragrance at Neiman’s. It includes an important tip — the tiny voice activity sensor on the unit must touch the user’s face ever so gently. (Ooh that sounds creepy … but you know what I mean.)
Minor deduction — I didn’t really like the way the piece operates. You squeeze or press in the general vicinity of a button, hidden in the bowels of the plastic. It is a little iffy, but then again, I only played with it for a few days. Prolly would get the hang of it, if it were in fact welded to my ear.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t say that the name reminds me of one of my favorite Bible stories (or Torah if you are of the other user group) … you know the one in Judges where Sampson slays 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. I digress.
The other day, the kid I approached at Best Buy took me straight to the Jawbone, when I told him I was looking for a gift for kids who already have EVERY gadget. How random! I don’t think kids will wear the Jawbone, but I liked the way the clerk was thinking … and this ass really liked the Jawbone — 5 pings.
Have Yourself A Merry Little (Private) Christmas
I don’t think this item will qualify as a “stocking stuffer” because i don’t think you can roll it without damaging it. But … the folks at 3M sent me one of those privacy filters for my laptop computer. You know how sometimes you can live perfectly happy, not knowing what you are missing until you add a certain item. It sounds silly, but that is how I feel about this filter. Here is why … a great example. After I installed the 3M Privacy Filter on my HP Pavilion, I went to the place where there is an imprint in a cushy chair, matching my derriere (Starbucks).
I plopped down and about 42 seconds later, a friend who is always there sitting near where I am working spoke. “So, I see you got one of those new filters on your screen.” She might as well have said she had been casing the joint and noticed there were new locks on the doors. Instantly, I recalled several times before when I thought she was reading my screen … hmmm. I prefer that people read my blog after it is posted. So, yes, the filter is my new best friend … and every day (I kid you not) someone comments on how they can’t see what’s on my screen. More proof. Last thing … this HP Pavilion I mentioned — love it … but the screen is way, way too glossy for its own good. It is almost worthless if I try to work on the balcony in the spring, due to the glare. No longer an issue. The inventive minds at 3M put a shiny side and a matte finish side on the filter. All my reflection issues are in the past. (Was that an oxymoron or a Lennon/McCartney lyric or something?)
You know, one of these filters would be ideal on airplanes for those prone to porn. Then the flight attendants wouldn’t be forced to police the in-flight Wi-Fi, inconveniencing the more tasteful travelers. So, if monkey business is yo business you might want to hook up with a filter … but, rest assured I DO NOT condone such behavior.
The filter is wonderful. The method of attaching it to a screen is complicated by the lack of flat surfaces on the computer screen frame. Tiny adhesive strips are provided — 6 pings. I bet one of the braniacs at 3M is already on it … looking for a better way to mount the filter … Ha … throw them in a room with a few Elsie Stix … I bet they come back with a winner.
What’s that … you don’t know Elsie Stix? … not a 3M product, but sheer genius:
http://www.innovationcreation.us/2006/10/innovation-history-elsie-stix-how-to.html
Aw, The Lights Of Christmas!
Before pontificating onward, just let me say I have a long list of “gadgi” (rhymes with Magi) to play with and review. I will do as many as I can … now that we are getting down to the days when the “real shoppers” venture out. And, just so you’ll know, my plan is to mention a variety of items in each post … including one big-ticket item.
Here’s today’s coolest toy … the Epson PowerLite 1725 projector, with Wi-Fi. Note to Epson: Don’t make me send this back! I’ll be frank. When I get my hands on a projector, I really have my way with it. First, I used the projector in a normal corporate scenario. I projected my PingWi-Fi sponsor proposal PowerPoint on the wall. It looked stunning, if I don’t say so myself. But, the things I asked of the projector went downhill from there — from a corporate perspective.
Epson PowerLite 1725
I held the unit upside down, shining images on the ceiling, down the hall, up the stairs, etc. I even took the project out in the fog and projected on the side of the house. I shined my logo on the wall and took photographs with the logo covering me like some corporate music video, run amok. Crisp images!
View it at:
Then I got all Christmassy and projected some wild video of colored lights on the wall, with the help of Canon’s Vixia 30HV HD cam (more on that baby later). I ain’t gonna lie. I have seen less impressive stuff in one of my favorite modern art museums. (“But is it art?”)
Eat Your Heart Out Griswald
Best of all, this unit has Wi-Fi … that calls for some more creative testing. Dang I can think of all kinds of fun, punk stunts with this one … Like setting the projector up in a public place and watching people react to various photos … controlling the slides from a distance … Ha! But, I think the folks at Epson have business presentations in mind for this cool tool/toy. Anyway …
How far will the Wi-Fi signal reach? I tried the projector positioned immediately next to the laptop in my office. Excellent. Then I took the laptop out on my balc, about 50 feet away. Worked like a charm. Then I took the laptop downstairs, (getting a workout on this trial) ran back up about 100 feet away … still working — projecting my desktop on the wall. Just for grins, I inserted a DVD and then took the laptop out in the driveway, sat it in the front seat of my Toyota, closed the door and locked the thing (checking for keys in the pocket first). Then I ran up the stairs one more time. The laptop in my auto was playing a DVD disc, and transmitting that to the projector. And YES, the Chris Rock DVD that was spewing hilarious obscenities downstairs in the locked Toyota was also still projecting the comic genius on the wall in my home office — silently, as if the censors had pulled the plug on the sound. Hmmmm … I noticed the video projection was a little choppy … either that or Chris Rock has developed a tick.
Very cool …
But this is the only thing I didn’t crave — since the projector becomes the hotspot, and the laptop has to tune to that hotspot to work together, the laptop inadvertently loses Internet wireless connectivity while in sync with the projector. See what I mean? So, if I wanted to project my favorite Web site … oh, I don’t know, like maybe pingwi-fi.com … I would have to have an Internet connection “piped” in to the laptop. The software that allows the laptop and projector to communicate automatically disables my Wi-Fi software (temporarily). I don’t like anything that goes messin with my set up … but it was easy enough to return to my old ways.
The projector Wi-Fi installation requires that you take out one screw, remove a plate and insert the Wi-Fi apparatus — pretty easy, yet makes you feel all good and geeky. And the required software loads on to your computer from a USB key … nice. Note to self – I gotta get one of those tiny techy screwdrivers. The tip of my pocket knife is hard on screws.
The Epson PowerLite 1725 is a keepeer (although the Chris Rock DVD was supposed to be returned last week) — 6 pings. It’s fairly lightweight, no problems with heat … it fires up quickly and doesn’t require a long cool-down. Get in. Project. Get out … and there must be a million things you can do with a Wi-Fi projector.
Know what I sayin?
