No More Printed Maps

We finally joined the ranks of the rest of the world and bought a GPS device (and I remember when I considered myself an early adopter!). I did a lot of research and asked all my friends who have one, and I ended up getting a Garmin iQue M4. I was looking for a device that would be suitable for driving, geocaching, and possibly boating. I also wanted one with voice-prompted directions, which rules out most of the handheld models. Most of the automobile models were clunky to carry. After some solid advice from my friend Kevin Roth, we decided to go for a PDA model. I had been stalking eBay for the last month or so, and I finally found an amazing deal on a used one.

We haven’t gone treasure hunting yet, but it works great in the automobile. It’s a nice little unit. By the way, ignore the MSRP on the web site, we didn’t pay nearly that much for it!

August 22nd, 2006  Gadgets   Tags: Gadgets, gps, pda, toys, more...

Time Warner HD DVR

A couple of weeks ago, Wanda and I signed up for the Time Warner HD DVR package to go along with our new HDTV. Although we were very fond of our media center, I decided to try the HD DVR for the following reasons:

1. It tuned HD content.
2. I assumed it was easier to maintain than an actual computer connected to the TV.
3. The media center took up more room, and I thought the slim DVR would look nicer in our cabinet.

Ultimately, we ended up cancelling it and just reverted to our trusty HP media center. Here’s why:

1. The user interface was lousy. It looked like something that was designed in the 1980’s using CGA graphics. We also thought it was much less intuitive than Windows Media Center Edition.
2. The extra HD channels I received over the ones I already got over the analog service were non-impressive.
3. The remote sucked.

We now have our HP Media Center hooked up to it, and we like it much better. We hooked it directly to the TV via the monitor port, and the resolution is quite impressive (as compared to a composite connection which we were using before). It doesn’t tune HD, but we don’t really get any HD content we’re interested in anyway, and even if we were, we could switch to the normal tuner for that. Windows Media Center is definitely one thing Microsoft got right. Easy to navigate, intuitive interface, and simple remote with all functions a few clicks away.

March 27th, 2005  Television   Tags: dvr, Entertainment & Media, Gadgets, Television, more...

Toolbox PC

As some of you may know, I’ve been working on my own Toolbox PC lately. I’ve finally finished it. Click the link for pictures and a list of what’s under the hood.

June 15th, 2003  Computers   Tags: Gadgets, toolbox, toolbox pc, toys, more...

HP 200e DVD-RW

I just got myself a new external HP 200e DVD-RW drive with USB 2.0 and Firewire support. It rocks. I got it for about $30 after a $350 mail-in rebate I received from hpinfolab.com for being an employee of Best Buy. Sweet.

November 15th, 2002  Gadgets   Tags: best buy, dvd, Gadgets, toys, more...