What kind of gadgets do you have?

[uhsites]

What sort of gadgets do you have?
It's pretty obvious that we all have computers, but besides that, what other things do you have that you like?

I have a tablet and it is pretty cool :-)

[KLH]

I don't have any cool gadgets expect for my Laptop, although it is pretty cool.

Toshiba A35 - S159
Intel Pentium 4 2.3 Ghz
512 MB RAM
60 GB HD
802.11g wi-fi card built in

I've had it for just over 1 month so far.

[Serge]

I have a Dell Axim on the way and I will be getting a laptop hopefully soon. :)

[Viper007Bond]

Just my digi cam. Too broke to have anything else. :(

[y6y6y6]

Garmin Rino 120 (http://www.garmin.com/products/rino120/)

Supercool.

[uhsites]

y6, that is cool... how is it powered?

[y6y6y6]

"how is it powered?"

Uses three AA batteries. That only lasts about 5 hours with the radios on so I end up carrying extras. I've found they work great for finding people in a crowd. With the GPS you can use the map to get within a few feet of them.

No more calling on the cell phone to ask, "Where the hell are you?" Just check the map.

And the metro maps are great. it will actually give you a listing of where the closest gas, food, etc is.

[uhsites]

Yeah, I was going to say if it's batteries, you better pack extas,,,
I've heard those things really eat batteries.

It would suck to get lost hiking sometime and then realize you've forgotten to pack batteries...

I can see how that thing could be a great help, but is it worth the price?

[y6y6y6]

"I can see how that thing could be a great help, but is it worth the price?"

It really depends on your needs. You can do much the same thing with cellphones. And who really needs GPS?

But for me it was certainly worth it. Being able to add rural or topo maps is very handy. And if you have two units it effectively doubles the number of maps you can load. Plus I frequently travel out of cellphone range and my girlfriend and I usually end up wandering apart. With the radios we can each go at our own pace and not worry about abandoning the other person.

This comes in very handy at zoos.

[Unicorn2]

* -- Wacom Intuos2 6x9 Digitizer
* -- Dell 1800FP
* -- Dell 1800FP #2
* -- Dlink Router (1 of 2 routers in the home)
* -- 24 Port all gigabit Switch (in house)
* -- Hp Pavilion MX75 Monitor (about the crispest non A.G. crt I could find)
* -- Pioneer 106D Dvd Burner
* -- LiteOn 16x DvD Reader/48X burner combo
* -- Usb Keys a Plenty
* -- Ati rage 3 card (they don't officially exist)
* -- Quadro Video card
* -- Argosy External Firewire/USB2.0 enclosure
* -- Happauage Win TV PVR-250
* -- Minolta-Kyocera-QMS 2300DL Color Laser Printer
* -- Shuttle XPC home theater
* -- Yamaha YHT-550 (think that's the model #) Home theater receiver system
* -- Panasonic 60", 16:9 Widescreen HDTV (projection)
* -- Advent 27" 4:3 HDTV (CRT)
* -- 6-in-1 Card reader
* -- 3.2 MPixel digicam (olympus)
* -- 2.1 MPixel digicam (sony)
* -- 5.0 MPixels digical (sony)
* -- 668,000 CCD Digital Movie Cam : sony (PCR-DC1)
* -- in dash cd based mp3 player
* -- in dash home built custom navigation system, with touchpad lcd (6.9" diagonal) that intefaces with my jeeps EXISTING diagnostic sensors
* -- In tire (rim) tire pressure sensors that alert me if my tire pressure goes low via a visible and audible notification to that same in car computer
* -- Nomad Muvo^2 1.5 Gb Mp3/Wma/Wav Mp3 player/data key
* -- Motorola i700 plus "contractors" cell phone x 2
* -- Panasonic Progressive scan dvd player/hi-fi vcr combo
* -- 2 x Dell Inspiron 1100 laptops
* -- In house server
* -- Nexland Pro800Turbo Broadband concentrator
* -- Crappy unstable cable AND dsl that I Cannot order static ip access for.

[Unicorn2]

Oh.. and the jeep (with the computer) has an ECC module *engine control computer) that I can pull out, plug into an eprom burner, (with the right software) and change my cars performance profile.. and, well, it's also been bored out, with a major engine overhaul.. pushing about 305hp (metered, not just a guestimate) a great suspension and lots of body damage, for I, unlike 99% of suv owners, actually drive my suv offroad, and sometimes that means I hit trees/brush/rocks/boulders..etc... or worse, I jump off the sides of mountains :-)

[Fuzzylogic]

I really want the iRiver iHP-120.. REALLY want it.

Has to be the most featured MP3 player I've seen.

[sxtxixtxcxh]

ipod :)

first gen though.. 5gigs.
i got a line in on my car stereo so i hook it up to that. i don;t even carry earphones or anything.. i never listen to my ipod unless i'm in my car.
it's got a 1000w amp and 2 12" subwoofers ... usually blasting some hard core rock... or classical music; it cannot be fully appreciated unless you've got full tonal range

oh.. and that canon digital elph s400.

not counting my tibook :)

[Unicorn2]

Originally posted by Fuzzylogic
I really want the iRiver iHP-120.. REALLY want it.

Has to be the most featured MP3 player I've seen.

Yeah, but it's harddrive based : Battery life is the no..

[uhsites]

Ooooh, ipods are so cool! Do you have that little itrip thing that plugs into the ipod and transmits the sound to an fm station? Those things are neat!!

Heh, do you listen to rock and classical music within the same hour?

[sxtxixtxcxh]

uh.. no.. i plug directly into my car stereo.

and... yes. depending on if there's anything i like on the classical radio station :P

i gotta buy me some good classical cds.

maybe something percussive...

[uhsites]

Oh, well the itrip is dang cool.... it just plugs into the top of the ipod and transmits to an fm station.
So you can use it in a car, or you can use it with any other radio and you don't need to plug it in to anything or run any wires. It's like magic!!

[sxtxixtxcxh]

well.. it's an fm transmitter.. fm = loss of quality. but then again, i'm playin mp3s. :P

[u6crash]

I'm running a Mac G4 with 1.2Gb Ram and a DVD-R burner. My gadgets are a Wacom Intuos 2 9x12 tablet and a Kodak DX3700 digital camera. I had a Formac Studio, but I think it's broken :( Not quite a computer gadget, but I've got a Tascam 4-track for recording. I put the line outs into my parents' computer because I don't have a sound card on mine.

[uhsites]

You've got a 9x12? How do you like it?
I thought about getting that, but then it seems like you can do pretty much the same things with a 6X8, and it's not as expensive.
Is the large one awkward at all to use? Do you use it on your lap or table or how does it work best?

[VENCO]

Got me a 20gb mp3 player (Creative Labs ZEN firewire).

Excellent little gadget. I-pod might be a tad smaller but the ZEN is MUCH cheaper. Also the ZEN apparently has better sound quality, but I am not an audiophile...

[Tammy]

I really had to think about this question. I realize I really don't have a lot of gadgets - I do my work on my desktop, have a separate stereo system, an old laptop and that's about it.

I do get gadgets for others, though. Gameboy Advance SP was my top gift to someone else this Christmas. Also an air rifle, but I don't think that counts.

Oh, I just got a cell phone. Nice Nokia with a color screen. That counts, right?

[uhsites]

Speaking of cell phones.... does anyone have one of those camera phones? I've wondered what they are like. It seems to me like a cell phone should be a cell phone, and if you want to take pictures you should buy a camera.... because isn't the pic quality really poor? (I can't imagine taking great pictures with a phone, lol).

Another gadget I have (don't know if it counts as a gadget tho) is a really cool camera (not digital, the 'real' kind).

[KLH]

Originally posted by uhsites
Speaking of cell phones.... does anyone have one of those camera phones? I've wondered what they are like. It seems to me like a cell phone should be a cell phone, and if you want to take pictures you should buy a camera.... because isn't the pic quality really poor? (I can't imagine taking great pictures with a phone, lol).

Another gadget I have (don't know if it counts as a gadget tho) is a really cool camera (not digital, the 'real' kind).


I'm thinking of getting a new cell phone. The one I was looking at had a camera built in. I didn't think they had great quality images either, but after looking at some that were actually shot, they don't look that bad. I wouldn't complain about them. They are for "Oh look at that" things, and not "take it on vacation" or "pictures of a wedding" type quality.

[u6crash]

Originally posted by uhsites
You've got a 9x12? How do you like it?
I thought about getting that, but then it seems like you can do pretty much the same things with a 6X8, and it's not as expensive.
Is the large one awkward at all to use? Do you use it on your lap or table or how does it work best?

I like it, but I've never used the 6x8, so I can't say how it is different. The advantage comes I think when I use it to trace things on paper to the screen. Obviously I can put a bigger sheet of paper on it and the 9x12 size is nearly 1:1 with my current monitor. It sits on my desk at all times as I use the 4D mouse as my standard mouse. I've got a picture somewhere of how I've got my desktop set up with my keyboard and monitor and everything. I'll see if I can find it.

http://www.threechordme.com/images/desk.jpg

It's messy, but you get the idea. I've since turned the tower the other way and the tablet doesn't hang off the desk quite as much.

[uhsites]

That's sort of how my desk is set up, only my tablet pen is on the other side 'cause I'm left handed. And my tablet doesn't hang off the table at all :-)

[HRGraham]

I have this phone:
http://www.sanyo.com/wireless/handsets/scp-5300.htm

While I like the Sanyo interface I'm not sure why I paid extra for a crappy camera phone. I just don't ever use it because when I want to take a picture of something I usually want it to be in high detail so I use my digital camera.

btw, forget night pictures with camera phones(even if you have a flash).

-Graham

[HRGraham]

If you want to see some pics I took with my phone, go to the URL below. Two are from a Primus concert and the one with the bright lights was an APC concert. Then there is a picture showing how big of a chair thief Melissa is.

http://myownbox.com/~graham/cameraphonepics/

[uhsites]

Thanks for posting the pics... that's kind of how I thought a phone would take pictures. The dark ones are pretty grainy and they don't have any detail... but that one pic with the chairs isn't too bad. If you could get pics like that most of the time, it would be ok, but I still think it's better to have a camera take pictures.

I don't have a digital camera but have been thinking about getting one. My regular camera is pretty good and it has powerful zoom & settings which I like... I kind of feel that a digital one might be a disappointment after having the nice regular camera.

[HRGraham]

Yea, but it has to start off small just like anything else. I think in a few years we will have some really sweet James Bond type camera phones. Oh yeah!

[Tammy]

I'm always wary about gadgets that try to do more than one thing. Usually they don't do either thing well. One gadget, one use sounds good to me.

I agree, though, in a few years they'll probaby have cell phones that can take pictures with digital zoom and at 5 megapixels and all that. I just probably won't be able to afford them! ;)

[Unicorn2]

Originally posted by Tammy
I'm always wary about gadgets that try to do more than one thing. Usually they don't do either thing well. One gadget, one use sounds good to me.

I agree, though, in a few years they'll probaby have cell phones that can take pictures with digital zoom and at 5 megapixels and all that. I just probably won't be able to afford them! ;)

Like all-in-one scanner/copier/printer/faxes..

I despise them devices..

[uhsites]

Originally posted by Unicorn2
Like all-in-one scanner/copier/printer/faxes..

I despise them devices..


Me too... they just suck. I have that we got awhile back, and it's a scanner/copier/printer/faxer.
Well, it can't print that well, it's a pain in the neck to try to get it to copy, it sucks at scanning, and it doesn't fax that great.
Then I have my own personal printer and scanner (separate) and they both actually work great.

[HRGraham]

I have to disagree with all of you guys here. While combo devices do usually suck I use two that are pretty decent. While the picture quality on my phone isn't that great, the reception is and the interface is awesome.

We also have a scanner/copier/fax/printer at work and its great. The print quality is great and its really simple to copy pages. You just put it on the glass and hit copy.

-Graham

[HRTimothy]

I have the exact same phone as Graham and I think it's decent too. Like he said, the camera quality isn't the best but it's good for those quick shots when you don't have your camera. If something happens really quick, you can snap a quick picture because you'll usually have your phone with you.

[uhsites]

Originally posted by HRGraham
I have to disagree with all of you guys here. While combo devices do usually suck I use two that are pretty decent. While the picture quality on my phone isn't that great, the reception is and the interface is awesome.
We also have a scanner/copier/fax/printer at work and its great. The print quality is great and its really simple to copy pages. You just put it on the glass and hit copy.
-Graham

You probably have a good, more expensive one... the scanner/copier/fax/printer that I have has a feed-through type scanner that functions to fax, scan, and copy, and it isn't that good at anything. Yours is probably a much higher-quality type :)

[Unicorn2]

Originally posted by HRTimothy
I have the exact same phone as Graham and I think it's decent too. Like he said, the camera quality isn't the best but it's good for those quick shots when you don't have your camera. If something happens really quick, you can snap a quick picture because you'll usually have your phone with you.


So.. you have what we have said.. a multifunction device where 1 function is great, and the second function is not.. (i've seen grahams pics.. and while they are better than hand drawing.. they svck)..

as for the multifunction printer/scanner/fax/copier : what model is it. I've most recently used the hp PSC1210 and thought it to be sub-par...

[HRGraham]

This is what we have:

Officejet d135 (http://h71036.www7.hp.com/hho/cache/266-0-0-225-121.aspx)

[aliandro24]

my Gadgets are Handheld GPS map and CAR GPS MAP for Navigation

[sznapsDOTcom]

I got a blackberry, and graham, the same cell as you!, i like it, but does take very good pics at night....
the blackberry i have is the: http://blackberry.com/products/blackberry7200/blackberry7280.shtml

I like it, but can't really do much more then check e-mail on the go...I'm looking into getting one of those sidekicks from t-mobile, so i can surf web and talk on aim on the go...

[Unicorn2]

I don't really see the merit of a blackberry.. or the concept of text messaging.. I have a cell phone so I can have voice communications. If I wanted wireless email, I'd sit at my computer.

[vanselus]

I totally agree with you Unicorn. I have to get away from frickin email SOME of the time. A drummer I used to play with had a blackberry email thing on his belt and he would answer it ALL the time. During practice, between songs at a gig - it was SO annoying.

I can't wait until my cell phone is just a chip in my ear.

[sznapsDOTcom]

Its not just for that, I'm constently traveling most of the year, driving all over the country with my family, i need to check my e-mail then so...my dad told me to get one because he had one from his company. If i didn't travel so much, (like i don't now) i wouldn't have gotten it. But i'm in a contract with the provider so...

[-rAz-]

Id like to have something like this gadget:

http://www.archos.com/

too bad its that expensive

alltho if this is the future it looks promising

[vanselus]

I got the woman a Jriver mp3 player for xmas - damn that thing is small!! She used it at the gym last night and it worked great.

But there's some really cool stuff coming... (of course) check this out: http://www.cnet.com/4520-7912_1-5115843-1.html?tag=top

[Fuzzylogic]

Originally posted by Unicorn2
I don't really see the merit of a blackberry.. or the concept of text messaging.. I have a cell phone so I can have voice communications. If I wanted wireless email, I'd sit at my computer.

The reason being is that it is more discrete than a cell phone going off.

You can pull up information quickly, or receive updates quickly without interrupting other things.


A cell phone takes you out of whatever you are doing, but with a text device you can continue speaking to others, being in a meeting, etc.

It is also a wonderful device for deaf people.

[HRGraham]

I salute the person who can use AIM and still manage to understand a conversation thats going on next to you. I've tried but I always end up making the person repeat themselves.

[Tammy]

Speaking of getting away from e-mail, I usually don't even take my cell phone with me when I go out (I don't have a land line any more or I wouldn't even have the cell phone). I know that kind of defeats the purpose of having a cell phone, but when I'm out, I want to be OUT, not just in some kind of travelling office.

[uhsites]

Originally posted by HRGraham
I salute the person who can use AIM and still manage to understand a conversation thats going on next to you. I've tried but I always end up making the person repeat themselves.

I feel sorry for anyone who thinks they need to be AIM and talking to someone elase at the same time....
Ahh, that would just drive me crazy. I don't see why there is really a need for a cell phone that surfs the internet or checks email... I guess some people feel they have to be online 24 hrs a day.

[vanselus]

Last week my friends and I were planning a party, so we called three or four people on the phone (conference call) and were talking to 6 others on IM. Those of us who had both were making fun of the others at the same time and it turned into a total freeforall.

Hilarious though!

[-rAz-]

Originally posted by Unicorn2
* -- Wacom Intuos2 6x9 Digitizer
* -- Dell 1800FP
* -- Dell 1800FP #2
* -- Dlink Router (1 of 2 routers in the home)
* -- 24 Port all gigabit Switch (in house)
* -- Hp Pavilion MX75 Monitor (about the crispest non A.G. crt I could find)
* -- Pioneer 106D Dvd Burner
* -- LiteOn 16x DvD Reader/48X burner combo
* -- Usb Keys a Plenty
* -- Ati rage 3 card (they don't officially exist)
* -- Quadro Video card
* -- Argosy External Firewire/USB2.0 enclosure
* -- Happauage Win TV PVR-250
* -- Minolta-Kyocera-QMS 2300DL Color Laser Printer
* -- Shuttle XPC home theater
* -- Yamaha YHT-550 (think that's the model #) Home theater receiver system
* -- Panasonic 60", 16:9 Widescreen HDTV (projection)
* -- Advent 27" 4:3 HDTV (CRT)
* -- 6-in-1 Card reader
* -- 3.2 MPixel digicam (olympus)
* -- 2.1 MPixel digicam (sony)
* -- 5.0 MPixels digical (sony)
* -- 668,000 CCD Digital Movie Cam : sony (PCR-DC1)
* -- in dash cd based mp3 player
* -- in dash home built custom navigation system, with touchpad lcd (6.9" diagonal) that intefaces with my jeeps EXISTING diagnostic sensors
* -- In tire (rim) tire pressure sensors that alert me if my tire pressure goes low via a visible and audible notification to that same in car computer
* -- Nomad Muvo^2 1.5 Gb Mp3/Wma/Wav Mp3 player/data key
* -- Motorola i700 plus "contractors" cell phone x 2
* -- Panasonic Progressive scan dvd player/hi-fi vcr combo
* -- 2 x Dell Inspiron 1100 laptops
* -- In house server
* -- Nexland Pro800Turbo Broadband concentrator
* -- Crappy unstable cable AND dsl that I Cannot order static ip access for.

*drool* on those gadgets heh

That Win TV Card any good ? Thinking of making a small shuttle PC for HD TV recording purposes and LAN so i can burn it to DVD on my PC

[Viper007Bond]

Bah, I wish I had money so I could have some cool gadgets. :(

[Tammy]

I like that unicorn has both cable and DSL, hard to see how both of those will be out at the same time.....

[vanselus]

Originally posted by Tammy
I like that unicorn has both cable and DSL, hard to see how both of those will be out at the same time.....

Double the cost too - but yeah, no downtime! We used to have ISDN at work, then DSL - but now having a T1 is a godsend. They're never down (almost) - it's SO nice.

[Viper007Bond]

Hmm, I wasn't aware that DSL and stuff goes down - never had it happen to me.

[Tammy]

My cable is pretty reliable, but when it goes down, I really get frantic. Nothing to do about it, though, but sit and wait. Called the cable company and they sent a guy out after I had several interruptions, he searched and found some connector that looked all worn somewhere upstream from me. Haven't had a problem since, at least for more than a minute or two. But I die a hundred deaths if it is out for more than a few minutes and I can't check my work!

[sznapsDOTcom]

My cable never goes down, But, sometimes it slows down ALOT, like it goes down to 300kbps, versus the usual 900-1.1mbps

[vanselus]

That happens when your neighbors who also have cable start playing LAN games.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by vanselus
That happens when your neighbors who also have cable start playing LAN games.
Well, not LAN games, but just start downloading and stuff. ;)

DSL has better upload and is independent of your neighbors, but cable has better download speeds on average.

[KLH]

But dialup is the best of ALL of them.. ;)

[Unicorn2]

Originally posted by -rAz-
*drool* on those gadgets heh

That Win TV Card any good ? Thinking of making a small shuttle PC for HD TV recording purposes and LAN so i can burn it to DVD on my PC

Yes, it's decent. There are better cards, but of course they cost more money. "For the price" it's decent...

Don't expect to capture HDTV or even digital TV..

[Unicorn2]

Originally posted by vanselus
Double the cost too - but yeah, no downtime! We used to have ISDN at work, then DSL - but now having a T1 is a godsend. They're never down (almost) - it's SO nice.

Well.. my DSL+cable is faster down than a t1, and pretty darn decent up.
Neither solution is perfect for me, but at $800 per month, and over $1500 setup charge in my neighborhood... t1 isn't exactly feasible

[vanselus]

Yeah well, I can't afford T1 at home either :D