This is a Sponsored guest post written by Matt Ryan on behalf of Lenovo for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% the writer’s own.

Lenovo is known the world over as one of the leading PC manufacturers out there. From nettop systems to high-end servers, Lenovo has a firm grasp on the PC market. But did you know that Lenovo also makes some of the most innovative accessories on the market?

A couple of years ago, I was working in a studio where multiple smaller systems were needed to power various screens located on set. These systems needed to be extremely quiet, small, and powerful enough to play video at 1080p. We decided on the Lenovo Q150, a handy little Atom-powered system capable of handling just about anything we threw at it. We were even able to use one as a backup live video streaming solution.

Despite being great little systems, one accessory in particular caught my attention. The Lenovo Enhanced Multimedia Remote with keyboard allowed us to control various systems in an adjoining room from a device that weighed practically nothing and fit in one hand. These remotes allowed us the capability of solving issues in the studio without breaching the sound-proofed room or distracting the host to do so. In short, they were probably one of the most appreciated gadgets we’d come across, and they came with the computer.

Fast forward a couple of years. Lenovo has taken into consideration all the feedback it received from its users and created something even better. The N5902 is the next generation, and it has a number of remarkable improvements on what was already a useful device.

What is the Lenovo N5902 Multimedia Remote with Keyboard?

Simply put, the N5902 is a second-generation all-in one remote that extends your ability to control your PC or game console without having to rely on a flat surface, bulky keyboard, or clutter-inducing cables to do so. Your keyboard and mouse are both infused in a single handheld controller that can be used from 30 feet away. A small (very small) USB receiver plugs into your PC, PS3, Xbox, or Wii, and starts working as soon as you turn it in.

In fact, this little device works natively on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. I even got it to work on my wife’s Mac mini, though keep in mind that it’s a Windows keyboard natively, so some key bindings may be different.

The mouse component of the N5902 is a combination of a ribbed scroll bar and a tiny optical touch pad that you move your finger across to control the cursor. A left and right button set is placed under the keyboard component to allow you more functionality.

How Well Does it Work, Really?

First, this is not intended to replace your keyboard and mouse on a primary machine. You’re not going to enjoy this product if you use it to browse the Web all day or attempt to accomplish a day’s worth of tasks. The Lenovo N5902 shines most when using on a media center PC or game console. It’s intended to give you a quick and easy keyboard with full functionality (including a dedicated Ctrl+Alt+Del key) to allow you to check the Web, navigate Windows, and get those quick and dirty functions done without having to reach for a bulky keyboard and mouse combination.

Using the Lenovo 5902 is fairly natural. My wife, who is a much pickier user than I am, was able to pick up on it and start using it almost immediately. It took a moment to adjust to the way the cursor control worked, though after a minute or two, it’s a fairly natural control mechanism. You can opt to click the touch button or the dedicated left-click button to select an on-screen window or option.

The backlit keys are a big help in a dark media room. With the lights totally out, navigating the Lenovo N5902 was easy and intuitive. For any multimedia PC controller to be worth the price of admission these days, backlit keys are a must. This begs the question of why so many manufacturers that deal in multimedia controllers and remotes don’t add this feature on their hardware.

What Can I Use it With?

The drivers the N5902 uses are native to Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. You can also use it on the PS3, Wii, and Xbox without having to deal with any setup hassle. While it isn’t built for the Mac, it worked just fine after I set it up through the setup process in OS X.

The entire time of setup on Windows is literally a few seconds. All it needs to do is identify the keyboard (which can be pretty instant on most machines) and activate it. Once that’s done, you’re ready to start controlling your PC from across the room.

Final Thoughts

I’m a huge fan of this little gadget, and not just for its multimedia applications. The media keys available along the top of the built-in keyboard make it easy to control media players from across the room. When I’m cleaning the apartment, this little device can go around the house with me, making switching between songs or pausing a movie as easy as hitting a single key.

Between you and me, I’ve even used it to play a practical joke on the missus from the other room. This is a fun little gadget, and one that can be used in a variety of settings from professional to casual and all points in-between. Professionals will love the sleek look and seamless integration, home users will appreciate its space-saving profile, and geeks will love its ability to connect you with your PC from across the room. In my mind, that’s a win-win.

You can find the N5902 at your favorite electronics retailer at a suggested retail price of $79.99.

How to Control a PC or Game Console with a Single Remote

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Samsung; the opinions represented are 100% my own.

Being away from the warm glow of your computer’s monitor is typically considered roughing it for some geeks. A night without some time in front of the computer can feel a lot like camping. So, how do you stay connected when venturing out into the wild world, far away from the comfort of your desk?

A recent video released by Samsung demonstrates how you can enjoy the many conveniences of a larger desktop computer with a device as light and compact as the new Galaxy Tab 10.1. Online shopping, staying in touch with friends and loved ones, playing games, and even checking your stocks are all made possible without the need of a bulky laptop or desktop computer.

The new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is pretty impressive. Both thinner and lighter than the iPad 2, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 takes full advantage of everything Android (3.1 Honeycomb) has to offer. This boost to mobility doesn’t come with a sacrifice in screen real estate either; the 10.1″ WXGA display offers a full 1280 x 800 pixels, making it both spacious and detailed.

The UI has also undergone some refurbishment from previous versions of the Galaxy Tab series. For example, Live panel gives users quick access to their favorite apps and features from the home screen. In addition, mini apps can be applied that give basic functionality to the user without the hassle of having to launch a full-fledged application. Couple that with some impressive browsing and media management tools, and you’ve got a solid tablet that’s easy to travel with.

Thanks to 3G and 4G technology now being made available built-in with tablets, such as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from Samsung, you can essentially carry all of your computing needs in a single device that takes up less space than a small textbook without having to be tethered down to a local network.

With a larger screen and more processing power than even the most powerful smartphones, having a tablet with you can certainly alleviate many of the discomforts of being away from your desk, even if you aren’t roughing it deep in the woods or working on a dude ranch.

How to Rough It with Technology

I wanted an iPad before I knew I wanted an iPad. It was probably the first product from Apple that I purchased without hesitation – not because I needed one, but because the iPad was so radically different from anything else in the industry that I was drawn to it (magnetically, perhaps).

Years later, I’m sitting on top of hundreds of installed iPad applications. I get many of them for free not because I’m reviewing them, but because I watch for iPad software discounts to float across my social media radar. I tend to share and reshare the good ones, too.

The community constantly asks me: what are my favorite iPad apps? I don’t even know if I have a favorite iPad app (singular)! There are just so many of ‘em out there, and each one of those applications does a great job independent of any other iPad app. That’s what makes the iPad work, ya know? It’s not some kind of complex computing tool that allows you to see dozens of open programs at any given time. No, instead, the iPad excels at providing a near-perfect platform for today’s various needs.

Each iPad app has the potential of being my favorite app – depending on what it is that I’m wanting to do. In many cases, I can likely find an app that will do what I’d like to have done. Doesn’t that make it a favorite for the task at hand? I believe so.

Mind you, I don’t use every single iPad app every single day. I don’t even use a single app regularly (beyond the web browser and email clients)! I know: you still want to know what I’m using on my own iPad this year. It’s for that reason we decided to do a live walkthrough via YouTube earlier this week (in conjunction with an iPad 2 giveaway, courtesy of a sponsor):

By the time the third-generation iPad rolls off the assembly lines and into my hands, I’m sure I’ll have hundreds more apps to show you. Maybe we’ll do this again next year? If you have the patience to sit through this hour-long video iPad tour and you noticed I have a few missing apps, please make your Favorite recommendations in the comments thread.

Favorite iPad Apps?

Anyone that has spent time around small kids knows that their fingers get in to everything. Fans are often a big concern for parents who forego more powerful models for safer, slower ones. For the past several decades, the science of air transfer really hasn’t changed much. Fans have taken on slightly different shapes, blades have been tooled several different ways, and the motors driving them have become quieter and less bothersome. None of these advances have really been revolutionary, until recently.

The Dyson Air Multiplier isn’t your normal fan. For one, it has a bladeless design making it much saver to have around children. This design also makes it much easier to clean. You no longer have to chase after dust that clings and sticks to blades and grills faster than you can keep up with it. Yes, you’re still blowing dust around with the Air Multiplier, but cleaning the fan itself is a matter of wiping it with a damp cloth once in a while.

Wind is uninterrupted and smooth compared to the choppy breeze created by fan blades constantly cutting in to the air flow as it pushes air through. According to Dyson, the Air Multiplier actually increases the natural current of the air up to 18 times, making it a capable room cooler. At its top speed, things get noticeably louder as a quiet breeze becomes a strong gust flowing past hollow tubes. If you keep the speed set at low and mid settings, you really can’t hear it at all.

The biggest drawback to this particular gadget is the price tag. At $300, it doesn’t exactly solve any critical issues or replace any technology that goes for anything close to that price range. Like the early adopters of the Tesla, you’re buying in to the newness of the technology and prices will undoubtedly drop as competitors find a way to build on this concept. Is the Dyson Air Multiplier really worth $300, probably not unless the coolness factor is really worth it to you.

Should You Buy a Dyson Air Multiplier?

LockerGnome’s Jake Ludington has decided to give the HP TouchPad a try. The webOS-driven tablet computer has been receiving positive reviews out of the gate, and the ability for users to experience flash elements from the web is a clear advantage in cases where the user frequently uses web-based tools that require some level of flash support. Here are some of our first impressions of the HP TouchPad:

The HP TouchPad features a 9.7-inch LED backlit display (1024×768) and a glossy black finish that is a fingerprint magnet. It’s slightly heavier than the iPad 2 and has a build that more closely resembles the slightly bulkier original iPad. That isn’t to say that it’s too heavy to use, but it could be a burdon after a long period of time. Is is comfortable to hold, however, and doesn’t have any sharp corners that would otherwise make the device feel uncomfortable.

After inspecting the TouchPad, it appears to have two reasonably-sized speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the left side. The built-in camera is front facing with no camera available on the back, meaning you’ll need to face the screen at whatever you’re taking a picture of. This indicates the primary use of any camera on this device will be for video chat rather than updating your Instagr.am account.

The 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor seems powerful enough. We were able to do some video benchmarking online and discovered that the TouchPad actually outperforms the iPad in a few rendering situations. However, this is not intended to be a processing powerhouse. It’s intended to be a tablet geared towards running web-based apps with support for stand-alone applications.

Battery life is pretty solid. HP reports say you should be able to get a solid 9 hours out of it during normal use. This appears to be a close approximation. In general, you’ll want to keep a USB cable handy to give it a charge if you intend to use it for more than a normal day’s use.

Switching between apps on webOS is snappy and easy. Navigation requires an occasiona flick and tap giving you the ability to toss unwanted windows and applications off the screen to get rid of them. If you want to look something up, Just Type gives you the ability to search on the device and on the web for something with a single search bar. This is a pretty nice feature, especially when you have a lot of apps loaded in to the TouchPad down the line.

Overall, it’s a fine device for anyone that absolutely must have flash as part of their mobile browsing experience and doesn’t want to deal with Android. Of all the tablet operating systems out there, webOS is doing a lot to prove its feasibility in today’s competitive market. Whether or not the TouchPad really takes off is anyone’s guess.

First Impressions of the HP TouchPad

It’s 3am, and you’re sitting on the couch flipping through channels trying to fight off insomnia and muster up the willpower to give falling asleep another try. Unfortunately, the late-night infomercials are just too energetic to create a sleep-friendly environment. So, in your near-catatonic state of drowsiness, you keep watching with growing interest as various gadgets and gizmos do their thing in an almost magical fashion on the screen.

Wake up! These gizmos are rarely even useful. The knife that stays sharp forever dulls on anything harder than a tomato, the automatic stirring device dances around one corner of your pan, and the overpriced baking soda doesn’t clean any better than dollar store detergent. The fact is, you probably wouldn’t buy these things if the seemingly dimwitted fellow on the screen wasn’t so absolutely amazed every time the product is demonstrated.

The fact is, many of the As Seen on TV products suck. They’re cheaply made and designed to encourage spending to solve a problem that most people don’t even know they have. Chances are, once you pick up a Gizmodoodle or Hackamabob, it’s going to sit in your kitchen cabinet until you show it off to someone that stops by and pawn it off on them.

That isn’t to say that some of these gadgets don’t actually serve a useful purpose. A couple of them are are alright. The problem is, they’re all pitched the same way and it’s impossible to tell what its limitations are until you’ve picked one up. Some of these ads make it look like you can saw a giant oak tree down with a single stroke using a $10 knife. Can you, really? NO!

I’m not saying you should avoid any invention sold through late-night infomercials. For practical applications, some of them are every bit as good as any reasonable person might assume them to be. The best way to avoid being burned by late-night advertising is to do some research before bringing out the credit card. Take a look at what actual users have to say about it. If you still think the product is a good investment – go for it. Send me an email and let me know if it does work out exactly as you expected it to. I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Please feel free to comment below and share your experience with As Seen on TV products. Have you had any success with them? If so, what was it and how did it work for you?

Why Most As Seen on TV Products Suck

A LockerGnome.net user named Senzers69 asked, “Are digital camera’s becoming obsolete now that phones have such good cameras?“

What does this mean? Well, it certainly serves as a strong indication that the technology behind camera phones has advanced to the point where they are becoming “good enough” to replace the traditional point-and-shoot for many of their users. The fact that these mobile devices are capable of doing a lot more than just taking pictures may also be a significant contributing factor to this overall trend.

You no longer have to keep a camera in one pocket and your phone in another. The quality of the camera built-in to most phones today is good enough to get the job done, and there isn’t any real reason for most people to carry around another gadget when they really don’t have to.

Services and apps like Instagram and ToonPAINT expand the functionality even further by allowing photos to be edited in an artistic way and shared with little more than a few taps of a screen. Digital point-and-shoots have come a long way in terms of quality, but in their current form they really can’t compete with the convenience a smartphone can deliver.

In the case of SLR (or DSLR) cameras, I don’t see much changing anytime soon. While they may be behind in terms of percentage of overall users when compared to mobile phones, their core user base relies on quality over convenience. Camera phones have a long way to go before they can capture images with the same level of detail as a modern DSLR.

In fact, even regular point-and-shoots still have an advantage over mobile phones in terms of image stabilization. Optical image stabilization is just better than any digital equivalent smartphones available today can deliver. Until this changes, dedicated digital cameras are probably not going to die completely. They are, however, going to face an ever increasing amount of competition from the mobile space.

According to Flickr, the most popular camera used in photos uploaded to their site is Apple’s iPhone 4. After a steady climb, the iPhone 4 beat out the Nikon D40 and Canon EOS 5D Mark II. This means a larger percentage of their users are using the mobile phone to take photos than traditional digital cameras.

What do you think? Are dedicated digital cameras facing extinction at the hands of mobile phones?

Are Dedicated Digital Cameras Going Extinct?

The Minority Report featured some incredible theoretical technologies, some of which have continued to interest geeks for years. One of these technologies was a system in which you are able to interact with the user-interface with a few hand gestures Now, imagine if you were able to control Windows 7 in much the same way. Wouldn’t that be a worthwhile project to check out?

LockerGnome community member Kevin Connolly has managed to recreate this using the Kinect SDK in a project he calls the KinectNUI (Natural User Interface). Currently, the project works with a single Kinect and any modern Windows PC.

With a swipe of your hand, you are able to switch between active windows, zoom in and out, more. While zoomed in, the Kinect will follow your movements as you walk around the room and allow you to scroll vertically using your left hand.

Future plans for the project include a pie menu to allow you to control your system in greater detail. This feature is expected to work in a similar manor to the pie menu featured in the Sims.

If you don’t like the computer responding to your every gesture, you can turn gestures on and off with a single vertical movement of your arms.

Without a doubt, this project (and others like it) have demonstrated the potential for relatively inexpensive devices like the Kinect to change the way we think about interacting with our computers.

What started as a device that took the principals of motion-controlled gaming to a new level by removing the need of a physical handheld controller is now beginning to bring to question whether or not this kind of device could actually replace the keyboard and mouse and change the landscape of computing as we know it today. While the physical technology may not be there just yet, it’s pretty interesting to think of what’s ahead.

More information about this project can be found on Kevin’s website as well as on his YouTube channel, Tsilb.

How to Control Your Windows Desktop With Kinect

Brandon Wirtz and Jake Ludington of LockerGnome joined me in a discussion about the various differences between the iPhone and Android in relation to how the keyboards differ on the two platforms. While they both share many of the same core functions and features, there are a few notable differences.

The iPhone uses predictive text to determine where someone is headed while typing in order to increase accuracy during keystrokes. For example, if you type the word “drawer”, it will automatically predict whether or not the last letter in the word was a “t” or an “r” since they are laying very closely on the keyboard. With such a small surface and some users having larger digits than others, predictive text is often necessary to maintain a sense of accuracy while typing.

The iPhone will also give suggestions when it appears the user is misspelling or heading in the direction of a particular word. Hitting the space bar will automatically tell the iPhone that their suggestion is correct and allow you to begin entering the next word in the phrase. Unfortunately, this can be a problem when you’re intending to enter a proper name or abbreviation that the iPhone doesn’t recognize.

Android phones tend to handle text input a little differently. In addition to the standard Android on-screen keyboard, the user is able to install alternative keyboards that meet their particular needs. For example, the Samsung Captivate comes with three different on-screen keyboard layouts to choose from. The traditional Android keys are easily replaced with a Swype input and even a custom layout made specifically for the Samsung Galaxy series that is designed to fit within the exact dimensions of the particular device.

In addition, many Android devices feature a physical keyboard in addition to the one on-screen which allows you to have tactile feedback as you type. For many, this is a big plus, especially when you depend on being able to find your place by touch alone.

Swype is another feature available to Android users. With Swype, you can make a single figure motion across the screen to type a word rather than having to peck out individual keys. This allows you to type with a single digit faster than you would on a traditional keyboard. It does take some getting used to, and in being so, it isn’t for everyone.

If you compare the iPhone’s predictive text scheme to that of the standard Android keyboard, they are very similar. While some Android devices may vary in terms of accuracy and usability, the basic function of the keyboard remains the same. One very key difference is in how Android handles suggested words. Instead of suggesting a single word (like the iPhone), Android will put a list of possible matches in a horizontal bar across the top of the keyboard. Touching any of these suggestions will automatically change the word you’re typing to match and add a space in order for you to be able to pick up where you left off.

In the end, it all comes down to personal taste and experience. Some may find, as I have, that the iPhone’s keyboard just works faster and provides greater accuracy. Others may discover just the opposite. In the end, it’s up to you to decide what works best for you.

How Does the iPhone Keyboard Compare to that of an Android Device?

Have you ever been curious exactly how much your appliances and other electronics are costing you to run? You could use something like a Kill-a-Watt which measures the amount of electricity being pulled on a single outlet, but what if you want to keep track of the electricity usage across your entire home? This is where the PowerCost Monitor can really come in handy. It’s an easily installed gadget that is intended to help monitor your electric usage remotely.

This two-part device includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter installs with a simple ring clamp to your external electric meter (digital or analog AMR, AMI, and Smart Meters) and uses a censor to determine the speed and measurement of usage. It then transmits this measurement to the PowerCost Monitor inside.

The whole thing can be installed in about 20 minutes, including the software setup.

The PowerCost Monitor can not only tell you how much electricity you’ve been using, but how much it will cost you come billing time. You can call your electric company or look for a detailed rate card included in with your monthly statement. Some companies have tiered pricing, and this device supports varied rates.

So, other than double-checking your bill, what makes something like this worthwhile? Well, by seeing exactly how much electricity your drawing can help you determine a plan of action to lower your monthly electric bill. Turning off lights, using fans, changing your thermostat settings, and other various cost-saving methods can be put to the test with this real-time monitor.

The range between the transmitter and the receiver is 30 meters (100 feet), which is long enough to reach nearly completely across most houses. It doesn’t take up much space at all. The PowerCost Monitor will not work with net metering applications such as wind and solar, or on a business meter that uses demand pricing.

In the southern US, the largest component of your yearly energy cost is air conditioning. Often, summer-time electric bills can double and even triple due to the energy required to cool most homes. A device like this can keep you informed and let you know what to expect come the end of your billing cycle. More importantly, it can help you discover the settings that work best for you and your budget.

How to Monitor Your Electricity Usage Remotely

Before the iPhone, I owned a Samsung BlackJack. At the time, I thought a true qwerty keyboard, replaceable battery, and 3G coverage were must-haves and three of the best features of what I felt was one of the better phones of the time. When the news came out that the first-generation iPhone was going to have none of these, I expected the same disappointing experience so many others before me have had with the “next big thing” in mobile devices.

To my surprise, I discovered that this new style of mobile OS was incredibly fun and easy to use. The idea of swiping your finger across the screen and receiving an immediate and comparable response was unheard of from smartphones at the time. Palm, and to some extent Windows Mobile were on the right track years before, but they dropped the ball by not updating their operating system for extended periods of time. To add to this, the predictive keyboard translated my clumsy taps correctly, at least most of the time.

When it came down to it, the megapixels of the camera, MHz of the processor, capacity of the hard drive, and speed of the data connection took a back seat to the experience a smooth and intuitive interface delivered.

What about two phones running the same OS? Does it matter then? Here’s where it can make a difference. If you have two Android phones with the same version of the OS installed and a similar look and feel, then a difference in processor speed and/or memory can improve your overall experience. Keep in mind though, that better specs means little if you’re using a phone that doesn’t receive regular updates from the manufacturer.

For example, the Samsung Galaxy S series came out with remarkable specs included. They had bigger and higher resolution screens than most of the Android phones out there, and even featured a beefy processor. Unfortunately, updates to the operating system were few and far between, and phones such as the Samsung Captivate were left behind while other Android devices (with less impressive specs) were zipping along on a better optimized update two generations ahead.

In the end, you have to decide which phone works best for you. If you are confident that one has everything you need feature-wise and maintains a reliable update cycle, then whether or not it has the fastest processor isn’t important. Does your phone do what you need it to do? Specs can matter, especially if the differences are extreme, but they’re not nearly as important as your overall experience.

Are Phone Specs Important?

The world of tech is filled with gadgets, gizmos, and accessories that are intended to fulfill needs. Computer accessories include input devices, USB-powered gadgets, and anything else you might use with or around your computer. In order to be considered a great computer accessory, it should meet one or more of these qualities:

Does it Make Life Easier?
Does the gadget, gizmo, or accessory provide a functional solution to a problem? Does it make an otherwise difficult or inconvenient task easier? Some accessories appear to serve a useful purpose, but after purchasing them you can be left with something that either doesn’t do the job you need it to do well enough, or it does something that you really didn’t need. A good accessory improves a situation, a great one does so seamlessly.

One example of this in action is the MagicWand. It connects an Apple Wireless Keyboard to an Apple Magic Trackpad to form an all-in-one interface device.

Is it Aesthetically Pleasing?
No one wants to look at an ugly piece of hardware on their desk. Distracting appearance and cheap construction can really impact a user’s overall experience. Aesthetics are one quality that can be judged very differently between multiple individuals, but this is where designers have to cater to the demand of the highest number of potential customers. One example of an accessory that focuses on aesthetics is a USB lava lamp. It may not serve a functional purpose or provide much measurable entertainment, but it does appeal to some’s aesthetic senses.

In the case of the original Zune, its boxy construction was a downside when compared to the rounded corners of the iPod. This small difference was pointed out on tech review sites across the web as one of the drawbacks of Microsoft’s media player.

Is it Entertaining?
This quality goes hand-in-hand with functionality. If the accessory doesn’t serve a productive purpose, it should at least entertain. This, like aesthetics, is a quality judged by each individual user. A steering wheel may not get work done at the office, but it might aid in the entertainment of its user. The same can be said for gimmicky items including USB missile turrets.

What Makes a Great Computer Accessory?

Do you have any idea how much I loathe the fanboy mentality? I honestly don’t care if you’re an Apple lover, a Microsoft admirer or an Android proponent – you’re all equally insane! Being a fanboy does not mean you enjoy or believe in one product more than another these days. It means that you are so insanely narrow-sighted that you cannot possibly understand that a different brand may just work better for another person – or even yourself.

Hat tip to Chu Chu for this fantastic fanboy depiction!

I had an eye on Twitter a few moments ago, and noticed that a friend was sad to realize that her three-year-old HP TouchSmart is slowly starting to fade. This has been her primary machine since August of 2008, y’all. She works from home and spends about ten hours per day – seven days each week – using the heck out of this beast. I’d say it has held up pretty well, wouldn’t you? Through blogging, Tweeting, video editing and even gaming, this setup has never let her down. Not once in nearly three years has she complained about this piece of equipment being bad, wrong, cheap or poorly made.

Wouldn’t you know it – an Apple fanboy was quick to jump down her throat in a Tweet response. His response? “That’s what you get for buying cheap crap. You should have gotten an iPad.” Fanboysaywhat? Are you serious here? Any computer that holds up for three years under intense usage – with NO upgrades or hardware changes at all – is obviously not “cheap crap” as you claim.

This is what I’m talking about. This person is so blinded by his lust for all things Apple that he has failed to realize his beloved product wouldn’t even work for what she needs. (Let’s also not forget that the iPad didn’t even exist when this particular computer became hers in August, 2008!) Would you honestly attempt to use an iPad as your main computer? If you can then kudos to you. As much as I adore my iPad 2, there is no way in hell I am going to get rid of my desktop. I’m willing to bet most of you wouldn’t, either.

Here’s a tip, fanboys: lighten up. Learn to embrace the fact that other people have different needs, wants and likes than you do. Stop harassing them and shoving your favorites down their throat each time there’s a problem with their favorite product. Guess what? Yours isn’t perfect, either.

Dear Fanboys: Go Away

The truth? You can’t handle the truth! This quote from the movie “A Few Good Men” pretty much sums up the way I feel about the news flying around the web today regarding AT&T. I’m angry – much as many of you are. Guess what, oh darling AT&T? We already knew you couldn’t handle our iPhone traffic. We’ve known this for nearly four years now. We’ve attempted to tell you. We’ve begged and pleaded. We have whined, nagged and thrown virtual temper tantrums. FINALLY you admit there’s an actual problem. Doing this a long time ago would have gone a long way towards keeping customers happy and loyal to your company.

In today’s FCC filing, the mobile giant admits that it needs help in order to succeed. It clearly lays out the reasoning for wanting to buy out T-Mobile: it needs the additional boost to the network. The company’s mobile data volume jumped by more than 8,000% in the time period from 2007 to 2010. As a result, its network is dealing with capacity constraints far more severe than any other provider. Sure, Verizon has the iPhone now, as well… along with other smartphones. But the sheer volume of this Apple device on AT&Ts network has brought the carrier to its knees.

AT&T claims in the filing that the buyout “will thus benefit consumers by reducing the number of dropped and blocked calls, increasing data speeds, improving in-building coverage, and dramatically expanding deployment of next-generation mobile technology.” With devices such as the iPhone generating more than twenty times the amount of data a conventional smartphone does, the network is clogged on a constant basis. Calls are dropped and lost. Downloads are stalled. Connections aren’t available. It’s a nightmare, and one which AT&T hopes will end with this merger.

The company has said repeatedly that there isn’t time to beef up its network on its own. It takes years to get proper permits and things lined up in order to build even one tower. Imagine the time – and money – it would take to erect enough towers to make the network truly stable again. This merger makes sense for that reason alone – but not everyone agrees.

Sprint is vehemently opposed, for obvious reasons. The merger will undoubtedly make the company an enormous one. Sprint wants the government to put the kibosh on the entire deal, claiming that it will create a “duopoly” which will prevent other companies from being competitive. Sprint also feels that the deal will raise prices through the roof.

As an AT&T customer, I sure won’t mind having a more stable and reliable network. I don’t want to sneer when the Verizon guy asks if I can hear him now. I’d like to simply use my phone anytime – and anywhere – I wish. I can see the point of view of the competing businesses and those opposed. I don’t know… what do you think? Is this a deal that should be allowed? Keep in mind that the data demands on AT&T – and all other companies – will continue to skyrocket over the next few years. Should they be merging together in this manner, or should they be attempting to build more towers?

AT&T Admits It Cannot Handle the Traffic

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Beep-it is an electronic musical instrument that responds to light. Beep-it shifts pitch and tone based on how much light is available, making it an analog optical theremin. By casting shadows and reducing available light to sensors inside Beep-it, or by passing it closer to a light source at varying speeds, you can dramatically alter the pitch of sounds coming from the device.

Michael Una describes his creation in fairly easy terms:

One button turns the device on or off, which can produce a continuous tone or a rhythmic sequence. One sensor varies pitch of the output waveform in response to ambient light. The resulting system encourages playfulness and body movement.

I’m not sure if this little gadget is annoying or enlightening, but it’s definitely fun. I read about this on some gadget blog or another and had to try it for myself. I just need to push a button and listen as I move closer to (or further away from) any object with light. You’d think it has to do with the distance to light, but that’s not the full story.

Perhaps you’re a performance artist who wants a completely different sound and style. The Beep-it would be perfect for you! Wow your audience and amaze your own friends each time you grab this magical box. You can plug the Beep-it into an amp by way of a simple jack. Magnify your sound a bajillion times.

I’m an easy-to-please gadget geek. I don’t always have to have the latest and greatest product on the market to be happy. I like the simple things in life, such as the Beep-it. Devices aren’t only meant to make your life easier – they’re also about having fun. I admit it – I find toys such as this to be very fun. I’m addicted to making music with gizmos!

Beep-It Adds Music to Light