My Top Gadget/Gizmo/Electronic items for '09-'10
Over the past year or so, I've purchased a few items that have either improved my way of life either a little bit or by A LOT! Here are some of my favorites.
BluRay Player: 3½ out of 5 stars
While the vast improvement in picture quality is a bonus, I was more impressed with the Media Center features that allow me to play my ever increasing HD movie collection to be viewed by streaming... or by an external harddrive. I could give it a higher rating, but I've got such a tiny BluRay collection and only a 32" 720Pixal TV that I'm just not that into it yet.
Keurug Coffee Maker: 4½ out of 5 stars
WOW are these things cool. No more grinding, No more nappy-ass coffee grounds in a soggy filter, no more hassle... just coffee made simple. Slip in a pre-packaged K-cup of my choosing, pour in some water, put your mug underneath, press a button.... you're done. within 30 seconds I'm drinking fresh ground coffee and it only cost me $.40. =D Hands down, one of my favorite New Toys I got this past year. Worth every penny.
Windows 7 Home Premium Edition: 4 out of 5 stars
Better than XP and just as stable. It provides a much easier ways to do things on the PC and seems to figure out errors and ways around problems far better than I ever would have expected. I really don't have anything really negative to say about it other than if you use the Hibernate feature alot, it effects the "Gadgets" by making them update unless restarted. No idea how to get around that. =P At least its far better than Vista. Vista was a media flop even though my only complaint about it was it hogged all my system resources, though.. that is a big complaint.
Seagate FreeAgent - External Harddrive: 5 out of 5 Stars
I've always been a big fan of external portable harddrives... but this particular 1tb version has me smiling every time I use it. Its almost as small as my Blackberry, holds my entire C: drive as a backup, I have all my BitTorrents on it, my 15,000+ music collection, all my favorite programs in .iso format and even a few games on it. All this and I still have 500gigs free for additional storage. =D
I rarely leave home without it and its soooo handy to whip out in a pinch if I need to work on a file that I'm not at home to update. Awww, this computer doesn't have Word, Photoshop or Excel 2007 for me to work on it? noooo problem, I'll just install it from the External HD. hahahha.
iRobot - Roomba 530: 4½ out of 5 stars
If the Keurug mentioned above is my favorite of my new gadgets and electronic toys, this comes in a close second. I never in a million years would think Vacuuming would be so much fun. DUDE! my vacuum moves by itself.. AND DOES A GOOD JOB! I very much could be biased and make it 5 out of 5 stars... but I would like to make it known that it does its job with a few faults. Not enough for me to seriously complain about it, but occasionally it gets stuck under my bed, loses charge mid-clean and just dies out in right in the middle of the room (its supposed to find its way back to its docking station) but these are minor inconveniences at best. Ever since I got it, I haven't regretted my choice in the slightest, While the pricetag is a bit on the steep side for something that just "cleans floors", you have to understand that it does more than that... you have to pick up the floors, straighten up, make sure the little guy has a path that is unhindered by obstacles. It quite literally helps you clean up after yourself. =) to me, that makes it worth every penny.
Dual Reclining Loveseat Couch: 4 out of 5 stars
Ok, so its not a Gadget/Gizmo/Electronic item, but it is an item I got in the past year that has helped me to relax and take my comforting to a whole new level. Its not a full sized couch as my place couldn't fit a large 3 seater, it does however have room for a 2 seater. I could have gone with a single recliner... but now that I have a girlfriend, its better to upgrade to a 2 seat recliner.. that way we can both watch movies in style. Ohh and Naptimes are VERY enjoyable now.
BluRay Player: 3½ out of 5 stars
While the vast improvement in picture quality is a bonus, I was more impressed with the Media Center features that allow me to play my ever increasing HD movie collection to be viewed by streaming... or by an external harddrive. I could give it a higher rating, but I've got such a tiny BluRay collection and only a 32" 720Pixal TV that I'm just not that into it yet.
Keurug Coffee Maker: 4½ out of 5 stars
WOW are these things cool. No more grinding, No more nappy-ass coffee grounds in a soggy filter, no more hassle... just coffee made simple. Slip in a pre-packaged K-cup of my choosing, pour in some water, put your mug underneath, press a button.... you're done. within 30 seconds I'm drinking fresh ground coffee and it only cost me $.40. =D Hands down, one of my favorite New Toys I got this past year. Worth every penny.
Windows 7 Home Premium Edition: 4 out of 5 stars
Better than XP and just as stable. It provides a much easier ways to do things on the PC and seems to figure out errors and ways around problems far better than I ever would have expected. I really don't have anything really negative to say about it other than if you use the Hibernate feature alot, it effects the "Gadgets" by making them update unless restarted. No idea how to get around that. =P At least its far better than Vista. Vista was a media flop even though my only complaint about it was it hogged all my system resources, though.. that is a big complaint.
Seagate FreeAgent - External Harddrive: 5 out of 5 Stars
I've always been a big fan of external portable harddrives... but this particular 1tb version has me smiling every time I use it. Its almost as small as my Blackberry, holds my entire C: drive as a backup, I have all my BitTorrents on it, my 15,000+ music collection, all my favorite programs in .iso format and even a few games on it. All this and I still have 500gigs free for additional storage. =D
I rarely leave home without it and its soooo handy to whip out in a pinch if I need to work on a file that I'm not at home to update. Awww, this computer doesn't have Word, Photoshop or Excel 2007 for me to work on it? noooo problem, I'll just install it from the External HD. hahahha.
iRobot - Roomba 530: 4½ out of 5 stars
If the Keurug mentioned above is my favorite of my new gadgets and electronic toys, this comes in a close second. I never in a million years would think Vacuuming would be so much fun. DUDE! my vacuum moves by itself.. AND DOES A GOOD JOB! I very much could be biased and make it 5 out of 5 stars... but I would like to make it known that it does its job with a few faults. Not enough for me to seriously complain about it, but occasionally it gets stuck under my bed, loses charge mid-clean and just dies out in right in the middle of the room (its supposed to find its way back to its docking station) but these are minor inconveniences at best. Ever since I got it, I haven't regretted my choice in the slightest, While the pricetag is a bit on the steep side for something that just "cleans floors", you have to understand that it does more than that... you have to pick up the floors, straighten up, make sure the little guy has a path that is unhindered by obstacles. It quite literally helps you clean up after yourself. =) to me, that makes it worth every penny.
Dual Reclining Loveseat Couch: 4 out of 5 stars
Ok, so its not a Gadget/Gizmo/Electronic item, but it is an item I got in the past year that has helped me to relax and take my comforting to a whole new level. Its not a full sized couch as my place couldn't fit a large 3 seater, it does however have room for a 2 seater. I could have gone with a single recliner... but now that I have a girlfriend, its better to upgrade to a 2 seat recliner.. that way we can both watch movies in style. Ohh and Naptimes are VERY enjoyable now.