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Monthly Archives: April 2005

Notebook Mouse Roundup

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With each passing year, notebook computers constitute a greater percentage of overall computer sales. Soon, for many folks, their only computer will be their notebook computer. One of the disadvantages of a notebook compared to a desktop is their inferior interface. Keyboards are cramped and have limited key travel. They never have a mouse. To control the cursor, they have either a pointing stick or a touchpad interface (or in a few cases, both). Personally, I greatly prefer the touchpad, but both options have their proponents.

Notebook miceMany newer touchpads have a scrolling function built in. Homebodies and road warriors alike use their notebooks ever increasingly and they seek both comfort and ergonomics, not to mention trying to avoid RSI (repetitive stress injury). This is why users need a portable mouse. These tend to be smaller than a standard mouse in order to make them convenient to carry around. I chose to focus on wireless mice because they are the newer products with the latest technology. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first attempt to compare these products against each other in such a fashion. As usual, here at LIVEdigitally.com we set the bar just a little higher.

Just a note of caution: None of these wireless mice (or any other wireless anything) should be used on an airplane. You probably don’t have enough room for a mouse anyway with those cramped tray tables. If you did, than you would need a wired mouse to comply with airline regulations. In other words, don’t blame me when the Flight Attendant is reporting you the Sky Marshall for mousing at 40,000 feet.
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IPod Accesories

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Case3

Ipod’s can do a lot. But as we know from when Superman and Batman teamed up, even the most able bodies need help sometimes. There are a whole plethora of add-ons and extras that can make your iPod shine, glimmer, or just attach nicely to your belt. Trusted Reviews had a decent round up of the add-on gang. But really they only scratch the surface. Speaking of scratching, with the protective case above your iPod will stay fresh like canned tuna.

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Get Your Kicks On The Go

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Who has time to sit at home and surf the net for porn? Yea I said it, pornography. The social taboo of naked people and videotaped sex was the number one subject matter of the Internet until Napster appeared on the scene. Other than the deduction that more people desire music than sex, it’s easy to assume that the market for online pornography still readily exists.

The problem: nobody wants to get caught watching pornography, especially by their children, roommates, mothers, friends, etc… if a computer is shared by more than one user than watching pornography is a bit tougher to keep private (secret).

The solution: Brickhouse Mobile has teamed up with Wicked Entertainment to bring pornography to mobile handsets near you.

That’s right kids (over 18 years old of course) porn to your phone! Projections state that within 3-4 years the mobile phone pornography industry will be a 1-2.1 billion dollar industry. You knew it was coming, don’t act surprised!

Remeber the Segway?

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Segway
This was supposed to revolutionize how people walked. It was going to be to the car what the car was to the horse. Several years down the line, people still have no love for the segway. As this BBC story points out, in Britain there are only a handful of the crazy contraptions on the whole island. The price doesn’t fit and riding one still looks dumber than being caught in neon rollerblades. Let’s give it a few more years.

Digital Photography

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Nikon, the world’s second biggest digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera maker, just unleashed a new line of products to challenge Canon. SLR digital cameras produce high quality images. Yea, I know you already got a digi-camera on your phone. But for the true photographer, you won’t settle for those annoying pixilated images. If you want the real deal, rock an SLR digital. The picture below is of Nikon’s last release the D70, which sold like hot-cakes.
Camera

The Race For Dual Status

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amd vs intel
Intel and AMD have been racing ever since the dawn of man (or at least the last few years). We’ve come upon a landmark in the pavement, dual core chips. The dual core chips are just what you think, two processors in one.

It’s a race to first instead of a race to best, which always boggled my mind. People are more impressed with who makes the technology first and gets their products on the shelf, opposed to whose processor actually processes better!

AMD seems to be in the head of this race to 2-in-1, with a release date of April 21, 2005 humming of the lips of cpu race fanatics. I’ve seen some benchmarking sites for pre-released dual core chips and can’t say I’m as impressed as I thought I’d be. Continue reading →

Flash Card Memory Roundup 2005: Introduction

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Which Card Will Quietly Dominate and Why

The humble flash memory card quietly provides the storage for today’s electronic devices. Handheld computers, iPods and other portable music players, digital cameras, and even some cellphones and camcorders utilize flash cards. These cards are available in more varieties than Baskin Robbins ice cream flavors, and there’s always some new smaller card that just came out with some reported advantage. Thankfully, selecting a memory card format to invest in is not as random as selecting a roulette number at Vegas, and the key is putting the house advantage in your favor. This article reviews the current cards on the market with their potential advantages and uses, and highlights some future directions. No one likes choosing a dying standard, and I’ll point out the likely winners of this high wager business. After all, no one needs a drawer full of expensive, but outdated and useless memory cards.
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