Recently I decided to replace my faithful, well loved, but somewhat banged-up, Konica Minolta G400. The problem is, I want to know so much about the new gadgets I’m considering that, if I let myself, I’ll do research until the thing I most covet is totally obsolete. Given this personality trait, I’ve had to learn to restrict myself whenever I get on a jag with any kind of new gear. I decided this time around not to really upgrade (say, from my point & shoot to a digital SLR), but to replace the basic functionality of my current cam. To that end, I decided that I needed a higher-res, ultra-compact digital camera which would support my current flash-memory investment of several 1-gig SD cards.

What is the purpose of such a camera? You know those times at a party or on the road when someone says, “I wish I had a camera.” Those moments you always miss. I like to be the one at the ready. I am, in fact, “the jerk with the camera…” It’s funny how during the following week nearly everyone comes begging for the pictures I took… OK, so I won’t bore you with all the research I did on choosing this small wonder. I will simply say that it came down to the Lumix DMC-FX9. and its main competition in price, size, and style is the Kodak V550. The V550 is a nice, slick camera in its own right, which uses my required SD cards, but it’s 1 megapixel short and comes with the battery life of a wind-up toy (a mere 120 shots). While the V550 does get some great (and well deserved) reviews, for just a few dollars more you can get the Lumix DMC-FX9. more >>

“How can I use my iPod as a hard drive? I want to transfer some files from my work computer to my home computer.”

Windows recognizes iPods and most other portable media players as hard drives when plugged in using the USB cable. Any of the player’s available memory may be used for transporting files like Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs and virtually any other file type you wouldn’t ever listen to or watch on a portable player.

For step by step instructions on how to turn your iPod into a portable hard drive read

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A new line of Gillette razors has hit stores recently, the Gillette Fusion™ Power, boasting five blades to give every man a better way to shave. Apparently the tri-bladed Mach3 (The Fusion’s predecessor) was not enough. The Fusion Power has added two additional blades to the front of the shaving cartridge, and one to the top for precise trimming. Add to that a AAA battery that emits “gentle micro-pulses,” and Gillette is sure you are in for an incredible shaving experience.

Now on to the review…

As far as design, and the bling factor to impress your friends, this thing has got it all. As if five blades weren’t enough, a chromed out handle and a futuristic design are sure to turn the heads of whoever may be in your bathroom.
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There’s a new iPod on the scene—the iPod nano—and you need one. What follows are our first impressions of this very impressive little player.

The iPod nano comes in two colors (white and black) and two configurations ($199 for 2GB, and $249 for 4GB). Each model stores music on a memory card rather than a hard drive, very crisp color display, and—like current full-sized iPods and the now-old iPod mini—sports a click wheel. Unlike with other iPod models, you’ll find the headphone port on the bottom of this iPod, next to the dock connector. The Hold switch remains, all alone, on the iPod nano’s top.

The nano is as thin and light as Steve Jobs says, weighing just 1.5 ounces, and is as thick as a stack of six credit cards. Despite its small size, the markings on the click wheel are clear and the click wheel is responsive. The screen really does look awesome—it’s very bright and readable. And the nano feels perkier than my other iPods, scrolling very quickly through a window full of songs, moving rapidly from one screen to the next, and flying through pictures.

In the iPod nano’s narrow box you’ll find the iPod itself, a USB 2.0 cable, Apple’s earbuds, two sets of foam covers for the earbuds, and an iPod Dock Adapter—a white plastic insert that will fit in future iPod dock connector accessories.

I can hardly wait until the next generation of iPods.

reviewed by: Dean Sauls

iPod nano review

overall rating: very good
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