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FEBRUARY 24, 2007
NETGEAR Wireless Travel Router (WGR101)
I received this as a gift from NETGEAR while attending their Press Session at CES in January. Many other review items have arrived here since then. This box sat in a corner of my office gathering dust. Since I have never set up a wireless network before and have even had friends return the wireless products they purchased and were unable to set up to the store I just was leery of taking on another task and failing. I know they did not expect me to review a gift but I couldn’t help myself.
 Since I still am using that really great ThinkPad sent to me by Lenovo, and it checks for wireless connections every time I start it, I decided to take a dip into the unknown. Reading the basic instructions told me that I could use plug and play installation as long as I was only connecting one computer and left a switch in position one (1) which is designated for single users. The instructions also said I would be without WEP security. What’s to lose? It seemed like as long as I grabbed the connection first no one else could use it.
 I opened the box connected an Ethernet cable from my router to the WGR101, plugged in the included power cable, and fired up the ThinkPad. The little box opened up on the ThinkPad that informs me there are wireless connections available. I clicked to view the list. I After clicking on NETGEAR-TRAVEL I was connected. Total time required, five minutes. I did not have to read the rest of the instructions and take the animated setup course on the accompanying CD.
Although I tried to do so, I was unable to do the WEP setup at the address provided on the CD (http://192.168.0.1/). The page would not open in my browser. I received a message “This page cannot be displayed.”
I will continue to use the router set in position one (1) so it can be used by only one computer at a time. I plan to disconnect the NETGEAR travel router from my DSL router when not using it so it is not available to outside users.
By the way I noticed the NETGEAR TRAVEL router runs very warm. I have not taken it on the road at this point but it works quite well at home. This product is not supported for use with Vista. Click here to visit the NETGEAR site for other products and support issue
February 23, 2007
Clear Harmony Headphones by Ableplanet
 Every time I boarded a plane and had to walk through First and then Business Class to get to my seat in row 27, 33, or even row 46 I felt envy. I didn’t envy their seats, the dollars they paid to get them, or the fact that I have to walk another 130 feet to a tiny seat. I just used to crave their humongous headphones. You know those people. They are always watching the latest movies or a symphony concert/ballet performance on their portable DVD player. They all looked so happy, as if their headphones removed them from the mundane noise that the rest of us make, while I had to settle for a paperback novel or an MP3 player with tangled cables and tiny earbuds that ALWAYS fell out of my ears.
 Now, thanks to Ableplanet, I too have a fine looking black case that I can unzip to find the best set of headphones I have ever owned. This product is the Clear Harmony with LINX AUDIO Active Noise Canceling Stereo Headphones. The Clear Harmony product is winner of one of six CES 2007 Innovations awards collected at CES by Ableplanet this year. The company is dedicated to helping people with hearing loss to live a better life through the use of their products.
For the entire article CLICK HERE
FEBRUARY 15, 2007
Verbatim Store ‘n’ Go USB Drive
 I love it when things go right! Thumb drives and all the other dinky, but helpful, USB drives that are on the market just don’t cut it for space junkies like me. Bigger is better as far as storage space goes while smaller is the winner when it comes to the size of the enclosure that surrounds it. With this product I begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Verbatim has combined a 1 inch hard drive and a USB connector to make a storage device that is smaller and slimmer than a Zippo lighter. It holds up to 12 Gigabytes of your stuff. Store ‘n’ Go USB Drive is the name. Packrats need to jump on this one. It also comes preloaded with Mobile Launchpad. To  quote Verbatim; “Mobile Launchpad also allows users to have complete access to personal files and data without loading the content on a guest system. For quick and immediate access, the drives can also be used in the familiar drag 'n' drop mode.” My review unit worked exactly as stated. The Verbatim Mobile Launchpad also includes synchronization software loaded in the interface that will help you keep you home and travel file versions in sync.
For the entire Article CLICK HERE
FEBRUARY 7, 2007
The Tornado by Data Drive Thru
 Long ago my daughter’s boyfriend set up a raid system (one drive saves a mirror image of the other) for me in a previous Dell desktop. It really did the job and, luckily, I never had a reason to test it since the primary drive did not fail. He also set up a nifty network so, when both my desktop and my Dell Notebook were connected to my DSL line, I could just dump a bunch of files into a folder on the desktop of either computer and the files would be copied to the other one. Those computers, as well as that boyfriend, are all out of my life now. I miss that brainless copying back and forth of files between computers. I admit to being unable to follow directions for “FileMover” and other product that do the job like “LapLink.” I read the instructions on how to name your computers and where to place the folders and what to name them and I am never able to make them connect. I guess I can’t say “never”. I was able to connect “FileMover” after about 1.5 hours of trial and error while trying to move some files for that same daughter about two years ago. I have never duplicated that feat.
 All the above is a much too long introduction to Tornado by Data Drive Thru. While at CES this year I received an email inviting me to a press release for a demo of its ease of use. They mentioned that a Chimp and an eight year old girl could set up Tornado and copy a file between two computers faster than two geeks (Sorry guys) could mave a file using another professional product. I thought “That is BS.” Well they did. I mean beat the socks off the GEEKS! Here is a link to a video of that one sided contest. CLICK FOR VIDEO
For the entire article CLICK HERE
February 1, 2007
Adobe PhotoShop Elements 5.0
Looks Different- Does More- Still Easy To Use
(See Screen shots at end of article)
 I have been using PS Elements 2.0 for some time. I am used to its look and feel. I can find most everything I need so I can do my basic photo adjustments. Feeling comfortable I uninstalled Version 2.0 and installed Photoshop Elements 5.0 without a qualm. I have to say I was surprised at the new look. Maybe I had made a mistake. The opening screen displayed several choices for what kind of photo work I wanted to do. It included a Photo Organizer (Browser) so I could, if I wished, set up a system to locate photos by type, locale, date, key words and so on. I decided to skip that option as I have so many photos that organizing them would delay this review for at least a month. It also mentions organizing my video clips. That got my interest as I had no idea video came under the purview of Elements. The Quick Fix option sounded good to me as that is what I depended on in Version 2.0. The Edit and Enhance Photo Option sounds like what Version 2.0 was all about. The Make Photo Creations seems like an add-on that will allow me to stay in Elements when I create stuff to make people look at my final products. If this new version does all it says it can I may be able to uninstall a few programs I have used for slideshows, creating montages, or just making a card or poster for a friend. We will see.
For the entire article Click here
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