Archive for the 'Gadgets' Category



21
Nov
07

iLost my iPod

Lost: iPod Nano 2Gb 2nd Gen Nano.

So this Sunday I was shopping Metrotown with Lina and her nephew Tyson when I lost my iPod.   I don’t know exactly how or when, but what I do know is that went AWOL at Metro.  As usual, we were listening to Maroon 5 in the car–Tyson’s favourite band–in the car, so I know that it was still in my possession.  We did our round of shopping, headed back to the car and took off to get my car washed.  I thought it might be a fun experience going through the car wash with Tyson.  Again, he wanted to listen to Maroon 5 but the iPod was nowhere to be found.  Looked in my bag, Lina’s bag, in all the compartments and under the seats.  Nothing.

After the car wash, which took a while because it was busy, we headed back to Metrotown to see if maybe it was dropped by the parking stall we were in.  Nothing.  At this point I had given up on the iPod and decided to go back to Lina’s Mum’s so we could grab her stuff and drop her off at the ferry.  Well on the drive home Tyson said that he was very sad.  I asked him why and he said “because uncle Ryoh lost  his  iPod.”  His one comment cheered me up for the rest of the day.  This guy sure knows how to make me smile.  Too cute.

Anyway, I’m still a little saddened by the loss of my iPod as it was just shy of 6 months old.  Oh well.  I guess it’s my fault for not paying enough attention.

14
Nov
07

Razr 2

Just saw this ad on the weekend for the new Razr2 and I thought the video was really cool.

13
Oct
07

Wii Knock-off

Wii vs. Vii
Image from Engadget

We should really give credit where credit is due, and give props to China. They are not shamed to ride the wave of someone else’s success and “reverse engineer” a product. I wonder what the games will be like. Check out Engadgets article here.

23
Sep
07

New Keyboard

Bluetooth Keyboard
Until late August, my trusty old Pentium II 350MHz (yes it’s a relic) has been semi retired–I still use it to print. I thought long and hard, and finally replaced it with a Mac Mini. I told Lina that I was getting this Mac as a replacement for my PC and also to be a media server for my TV in the future. I quickly ran through the plan with her, mentioning that I’d like to get a Wireless Bluetooth keyboard and mouse eventually. Couch Internet surfing and watching Internet content couldn’t be any better. Well I now have 1/2 of the wireless setup thanks to Lina’s anniversary present for me.

This keyboard has to be seen in person. It is amazingly thin and elegant. Whatever people (Gils) may say about Apple, they sure know how to design things. I haven’t had much time with it yet, but I’m loving it.

29
Jun
07

Harmony 670

I have my Remote in my little hands and I have to tell you that it is pretty sweet! Set-up is a little time consuming but well worth it. It relatively easy for people who are not tech-shy to set up. The set-up wizard is point and click where the hardest part is trying to find the model numbers of all your devices.

I did have to do some tweaking–some functional and some just personal preferance. I had to lengthen the warm-up time of the TV before it can accept any commands (changing video inputs for example). And I reconfigured some buttons to be more intuitive for me.

The plethora of devices it can control and the finesse in which it does it, is absolutely amazing. The one touch buttons, like “Watch Movie” makes fiddling around with 3 remotes unnecessary. It even controls the Toshiba VCR/DVD controls without any problems.

This remote is one of those devices that, once you have it, you can’t go back. Thanks Lina.

PS: Are you sure you don’t want one Mr. GG?

25
Jun
07

Logitech Harmony Remote

As evidenced by the hoards and hoards of people and a parking lot packed with cars to the brim, people like to shop at Costco. Why not? It’s hard to find a better deal than them especially for food. My girlfriend (Lina) and I are part of that group. To be honest though, what I really like is having lunch there. I love grabbing a hotdog & drink and walking around to see what’s new in store.

Armed with said hotdog and drink in hand, the first area that I walk through—actually, it’s more like “forced to” because it’s smacks you in the face as you walk in the door—is the electronic section. Not only do I salivate over the food that they have there but also, the Harmony remote. It’s a $200 remote that will pretty much controls anything. You set up and download your remote setting from their website so it is almost future proof.

Seriously though, $200 for a remote is really hard to swallow. I walk by every time in hopes that the price has dropped. Alas, that has not yet occurred. As we push our cart back to the car, I always mention that we “forgot to buy the remote.” Maybe she was tired of hearing that phrase or maybe she was tired of wiping the drool off my chin as I stared at it, but more likely it’s because she is a really wonderful person that she has surprised me with a remote as a gift. How awesome is she? It’s not the same model but she got a heck of a deal from Dell. She always gets me very thoughtful gifts, especially when it comes to gadgets.

I can’t wait until this weekend when I get to try it out.




Flickr Photos