theVooner's weblog

A weblog for theVooner.com where the best cool gear and gadgets get reviewed.

last modified Jul 15, 2003 at 1:45

Sunday, April 21, 2002

New DVD Player

Ok, I got tired of waiting around for a reasonable DVD recordable player. Instead, I opted to buy a cheap China-made DVD player. I did though want a good one. So after searching for awhile, I decided on the Skyworth 1050D. It's a pretty respectable China made player and even looks half decent. Multi-code, plays Pal discs, progressive scan, VGA output, AC5.1, it's got pretty good specs. So far, I've been quite impressed. I'm still playing with it right now but I'll post up a review soon.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 2:07 | 0 comments

Thursday, April 18, 2002

OQO Modular PC

Here's something designed with theVooner in mind. A high-tech gadget that is small, powerful and pretty cool looking. I'm sold. A company called OQO has just introduced a fully operational "ultra-personal" PC that is very similar to the size of a PALM. It all sounds really interesting. If I could get a full fledge PC that small to travel with, I'd definitely buy one. At a rumoured price of just US$1,000 I'm hoping this one becomes a reality unlike so many prototype gadgets you read about.

As some of you may know, I've never been one to shy away from new stuff even though there is a better than 75% chance it will be obsolete or just a waste of money. I can't remember how many gadgets I've owned that would fit in that criteria. DAT walkman, virtual reality i-glasses, Atari Jaguar, you name it. So when this thing hits the streets, and assuming it lives up to what it's supposed to be, I'll probably get one and review it here.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 2:16 | 0 comments

Wednesday, April 17, 2002

New Clie

Yup, the Japenese version of the new Clie NR70V is out. I really want one. It is really cool. I was tempted to buy it today, but two things held me back: 1)I didn't want the Japanese Palm OS and 2)it's grossly overpriced now because it's really brand new. The English version should be out within the next 2-3 weeks so I'll just wait. Now the only decision is what to do with my N760C. I'm going to go re-read my own 760C review because I'm hoping that I won't regret buying it like I did the 760C. I did get to play with it and while I am concerned that the screen is still small, I guess, I'm back to being used to the Palm layout.

posted at 1:29 | 0 comments

Monday, April 15, 2002

Notebook Hi-Fi

Kenwood and a company called iiyama have come up with this pretty neat looking stereo and laptop combo called the Avenue. The idea is to combine our love for downloadable music and ripping CDs with a stereo so we can get both. Pretty cool though I already like my laptop so I just want to get a PC-Stereo. In that respect, I really like the Sony NetMD stereos, like the CMT-C7NT with those Blueroom minipod-wannabe speakers. Sony also has this Hard disc recorder with a 40GB drive that burns CD's directly onto it called the HAR-D1000.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 18:15 | 0 comments

Gifts

I was just given the Herman Miller Aeron chair as a gift by my wonderful girlfriend. Of course this effectively ends my search for a nice chair and while I was tempted to try out the Ypsilon, I am more than happy with the Aeron. Ok, I know I'm like 3 years behind the times in terms of these being hip, but hey, it's new to me and I think they're awesome. I won't be doing a review or anything but let me just say, I hope that everyone out there is as comfortable as I am. Unfortunately, my office chair is a nasty, yucky, cheap piece of junk. I guess that gives me more incentive to go home early!

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 0:56 | 0 comments

Tuesday, April 2, 2002

DVD Recorder

I have long wanted to get a DVD recorder. In fact, the main thing that has held me back was the price. There was also a big problem with competing standards. Anyone that doesn't know the issue should know there are at least 3 different DVD recordable formats out there (DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-Ram). I'm pretty much just as confused as everyone else.

On the first point, I mispoke earlier when I said that Pioneer's DVR-7000 was around US$1000. Actually, they are still about US$1500 but I know a place where I can get it for about US$1250. I guess Pioneer was aware of the issue (price) so they just released the DVR-3000 which retails for just under US$1000 (about US$930 or so). I think they will eventually sell for under US$800. That makes a DVD recorder now a very real possibility. Pioneer uses the DVD-RW format.

If I wait though, I just read about a Sony DVD recorder about to come to the market that will support both DVD-RW and DVD+RW. It will probably cost a lot more but it will probably help push down the prices of the older DVD recorders as well so I guess it couldn't hurt to wait a bit more.

Also, there's the new prototype "blu-ray" recorders which are supposed to replace DVDs. At least most manufacturers have agreed on a standard here. But I suspect that this technology is still several years away.

thevooner@yahoo.com

posted at 17:06 | 0 comments

Monday, April 1, 2002

New Sony Clie

I had a chance to play with the new Sony Clie this past weekend. Only the NR70 was available (the model without the camera) and it was only available with the Japanese OS interface but I was fairly impressed. The thing that struck me the most was the size of the unit. It is fairly thin considering that it folds in half. I hate to say it, given that I was fairly critical of the CLIE and PALM OS, but I may just have to buy one when the camera version is available. Anyone out there waiting to buy a PDA might want to wait the extra month or two.

posted at 23:02 | 0 comments

New Review

Hey there. Well, I bought a Fujitsu P2040 laptop as I said I might. Check out the review here.

I must say that I haven't been too good at making this page more up-to-date so I promise from now on, I'll include more "blogs" on a regular basis talking about my favourite things of course: gadgets, gear, and the rest.

So expect more from me going forward. I know that from where I am, I tend to see more gadgets that come to the market sooner rather than later so I'll try to keep you informed. Also, there are some things which I do buy or look at that I don't specifically review so I'll post it here.

theVooner@yahoo.com

posted at 18:18 | 2 comments