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Now you can play downloaded movies, TV shows and music when and where you want. With room for up to five hours of video, and 24 hours of music, the pint sized powerhouse new iPod nano even has a 65% brighter screen than ever before and with a low starting price it’s more accessible than ever.
These new iPod Nanos available with 4 and 8 GB capacity
Zune is portable media player sold by Microsoft. It includes digital audio players, client software, and the Zune Marketplace online music store. Zune can play music, pictures, and videos; display images; and receive FM radio. They can share files wirelessly with other Zunes and via USB with Xbox 360s, and can sync wirelessly with Windows PCs.
The Zune Software, which runs on your computer (Windows XP and Vista) and the Xbox 360, allows you to manage files on the player, rip audio CDs, and buy songs at the online store.
So, if you are looking for iPod alternatives, now you can consider Zune.
Take your work and your play with you wherever you go with Kingston’s DataTraveler Mini Fun USB Flash drive. This mini-sized device attaches to your keychain or mobile phone to store your favorite documents, photos, music, school assignments and more. Colorful and versatile, DataTraveler Mini Fun comes preloaded with two puzzle games, Atlantis and Magic Vines, to add to the fun.
DataTraveler Mini Fun is available in multiple colors, based on capacity. Buy one to attach to your keychain or mobile phone or buy several in different colors.
Backed by a five-year warranty and legendary Kingston reliability and support, DataTraveler Mini Fun is the drive for people and data on the go.
Now that YouTube is very popular, everybody like to use it to share the video with friends and families. But, using camcorder for taking video and uploading it to YouTube is not really simple. It take a long process to reformat the video from it’s original source, like MiniDV, into format used by YouTube, MPEG 4.
Now you can forget all those complicated tasks by using Flip Camcorders. The Flip camcorder series lets you capture everyday moments that happen anywhere and share them with friends and family everywhere with ease.
With Flip camcorders, shooting video is as easy as taking a picture, and sharing is as easy as turning on your computer.
The Flip Ultra comes in plenty of stylish colors: black, white, orange, and pink.
1. What is Satellite Radio?
Two satellite radio companies, XM Radio and Sirius Radio, operate over North America. Each provides well over a hundred channels of 24-hour-a-day content, mostly music, news, sports and talk shows.
Both systems cover Alaska, Canada, the continental U.S.A. and northern Mexico, but not Hawaii.
Satellite radio is beamed down from communications satellites to receiving antennas, as in satellite television; similarly, the receiving antenna must be pointed toward the satellite. At only about two inches across, a radio antenna is much smaller than a TV dish.
To listen to satellite radio, you buy a receiver, and then pay a subscription fee to get an activation code, which enables your receiver to decode the digitalized content.
Subscription fees are around $13 per month — less with longer commitments. XM Radio charges a $10, one-time activation fee.
Choosing a satellite radio service is not simple, so the more you learn about the two services, the more satisfied you will be with your decision. It comes down to personal choice because, to the user, XM and Sirius are quite similar in equipment, pricing and — most importantly — content.
2. Satellite Radio Receivers
Satellite radio receivers are marketed for mobile and/or home use. People often carry them between home and auto, as most receivers are the size of a hand-held calculator. A receiver must be nestled into a docking device in order to work. Called a car kit or a home kit, the dock supplies power to the unit and provides connections for antenna and output devices. These tiny satellite receivers have no built-in speakers.
Most models are designed to slip into car kits, home kits, or boom boxes. A huge market is emerging for pocket radios with earphones, and which double as MP3 players.
Both brands contract with sound system manufacturers to build home tuners with satellite receiving circuitry. You have only to hook up the satellite antenna and pay your subscription fee.
Automobile manufacturers can now supply pre-installed, in-car satellite radios. XM Radio partners mainly with General Motors, Honda and Suzuki. Sirius Radio has Ford, Chrysler, and VW as partners.
*3. Choosing a Satellite Radio Receiver
First of all, XM and Sirius equipment are not compatible. Each employs its own, proprietary electronics and software, so neither receiver can work with the competing system.
Brand-for-brand, similar products are priced competitively. Prices tend to drop as newer models arrive. Dealers regularly hold sales, and generally keep prices between the two brands competitive. Deeper discounts are often found at the manufacturers’ websites.
XM have existed longer, and have published studies showing that their sound reproduction is superior.
Sirius hosts the most helpful website with more product information including online user and installation manuals.
New buyers, though, are seldom able to make decisions from such sales information alone.
Talk, rather, with sales people and listen to systems in different stores. Ask their installers for advice, too.
Although both companies offer free trial periods, watch out! You’ll need to buy a receiver and docking kit (a $100 outlay) before you can “try it for free”. Are you willing to do that … twice?
4. Satellite Radio Programming
XM Radio boasts over 170 channels. Sirius Radio carries over 130 channels. Simply comparing numbers serves little purpose, however.
Do you absolutely need the 15 sports channels on XM, or could you live with the 12 from Sirius? Choose carefully here: competing sports channels differ greatly in what they cover!
XM sends about 70 commercial-free music channels, while Sirius sends about 30. Sirius claims 23 rock stations, yet includes reggae and hip-hop in that category; XM lists 14 rock stations and 6 separately listed hip-hop channels.
While most receivers have 30 channel presets, can you recall where you have stored your 30 favorite channels? Would you even have 30 favorites? How many of those are you likely to tune into on your drive home?
5. The Installation Challenge
The easiest installation by far is with the home kit: the instructions show how to locate your antenna for strong, clear reception using the built-in signal strength meter.
The receiver can be situated at a distance, thanks to the long antenna wire (and optional extensions). For best sound, plug the receiver directly into your stereo with an audio cable.
More versatile is the XM Radio’s Wireless FM Modulator (or Sirius Radio’s FM Frequency) function, which re-broadcasts the satellite channel out to any FM radio in your home. The instruction manual explains this clearly, and it is not especially difficult to set up.
Car installations are more challenging! The easiest part is positioning the magnetic antenna onto your car roof.
Then, if all goes well, the FM re-broadcasting antenna can push enough signal from your receiver (inside the car) to your regular car antenna (somewhere on the outside, wherever the auto designers thought appropriate).
For best listening quality use an audio cable directly between the satellite receiver and your car radio AUDIO IN. If that socket is hidden behind the dashboard, you may want skilled help.
Sirius Radio offers many more optional devices for improving receiver-to-car-antenna transmission within the tricky environment of an automobile.
Prudent purchasers may prefer to let the dealer do the installation.
6. Conclusion
Satellite radio reception is not without its challenges. Yet, with nearly 14 million receivers in operation, satellite radio is here to stay. As with satellite television, not everybody wants one. But those who do have them love them.
News Update: Xm Radio & Sirius Radio to Merge?
The recent announcement about the two North American satellite radio companies’ merger plans has certainly thrown plenty of excitement into the picture. But don’t expect to see any changes for at least a year or two.
By the time the House Judiciary Committee is finished their oversight, and then all the other regulatory committees in the alphabet (S.E.C., F.C.C., J.O.C., et. al.) have their say, nothing will change.
Neither do the two companies have a clue yet about how they will integrate their two technologies. They say that they plan to maintain current services way out into the future. One thing for sure, they do not want to scare away any customers, new or old!
If you have been planning on joining the move to satellite radio, go ahead; you might as well enjoy it. Because, truthfully, nobody really knows exactly how or when this will all shake out. It’s highly unlikely that you will see any downgrading of programming, whichever company you choose. Big incentives may even be forthcoming, just to keep potential customers confident … and buying!
For the next year or two, nothing will change at all – and beyond that, you can be certain that the new, combined XM/Sirius entity will do everything in its power to hang on to every single subscriber.
The whole message with this merging is that they want to survive, and that their real competition is not between each other, but between them and the dozens of other systems for selling sounds to ears.
By now you’ve probably heard of the term “mp3 player”. By definition, an mp3 player is a device that plays audio files that are encoded using MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, a term which has been shortened to “mp3”. An mp3 is a digital audio and compression format that was designed to minimize the data required to represent an audio while retaining the purity and quality of the original (uncompressed) audio. A team of German engineers created the mp3 format and it was made the ISO standard 1991.
Another term for mp3 player is digital audio player (DAP). A DAP can actually perform more tasks than simply playing mp3 files. It can organize and store digital audio files as well as play them. Another common audio format DAP’s can play are WMA files, which is a compressed audio file format developed by Microsoft. WMA is a popular format that is supported by many devices.
Mp3 players are very portable and range in size. Some are so small they can fit on a key chain while others can be held in two hands (typically, these devices play video as well).
In addition to hearing “mp3 player”, you may have also heard of terms such as “flash players” or “flash mp3 players”. This is simply a type of digital audio player.
There are, in fact, 3 different types of digital audio players:
Flash mp3 players:
“Flash” refers to the type of memory. Flash memory is a type of electronic memory media (card) that retains stored information even when not powered (like your computer’s hard disk). It’s also used in other devices such as digital cameras. In many devices, the flash memory card can either be internal (non-removable) or external (removable as with digital cameras).
Pros: Flash mp3 players are better than their hard-drive counterparts because they contain no moving parts and are great for use with exercise and active lifestyles (jogging, etc.). They are available in many compact sizes such as being able to fit on your key chain.
Cons: They are more limited in storage capacity than hard-drive players – max of 8 GB.
Hard-drive mp3 players:
These are also referred to as “Digital Jukeboxes”. These devices contain small hard disk (some as small as 1” in diameter), similar to your computer’s hard disk storage. Audio files are accessed and read from this hard disk. These devices have a wider range of storage capacity – up to 100 GB as of this writing.
Hard-drive players are great for those that would like to store their entire music library on their mp3 player. As this technology matures these devices include more video and image support. You can watch full feature-length movies and TV shows on some devices.
Hard-drive mp3 players range in size from fitting in the palm of your hand to needing both hands.
Pros: Larger capacity allows for storage of entire music collections on single mp3 player. Can store and playback video (movies, tv shows) and images.
Cons: Contain moving parts so are not as good for active lifestyles (exercise).
Mp3 CD Players:
These devices can play both CDs and digital audio (mp3, wma, etc.). Some users prefer to create their own CD from a collection of audio files they’ve downloaded or grabbed from another CD.
As time passes, consumers are jumping more on the flash and hard-disk mp3 players.
When shopping for an mp3 player, it can be overwhelming because manufacturers seem to be introducing more and more models to the marketplace every month. It’s important to understand what your needs and desires are before buying one just for the color, style or physical size.
First we had to get over the whole film thing after a nation of baby boomers had been raised on Kodak, Polaroid, and 35mm film cameras of various shapes and sizes. We were all use to the idea of sending in our film for developing and waiting for our pictures to come back.
Then along came digital cameras and the world was taken by storm with this cool new technology. Suddenly you could take a picture and see the results immediately. At first these cameras were slow and not such great quality but still kind of cool. Then things heated up and now we have fantastic digital cameras of all sizes and shapes that can take wonderful images which can be shared instantly with your family, or the rest of the world for that matter.
Now comes the latest in technology integration. WiFi and digital cameras. No need to even plug your camera memory card into a computer, or a printer at all. Now you can buy a digital camera that transmits the images via wireless technology. Yes, that is right, a wireless connection for your image uploads.
Now, you may be among those in the population that have not even gotten their hands around the whole digital image sharing thing yet. But this promising new technology may lead us to a world of fewer cables to plug in, quicker transfer of our images, and in the case of events in the world, the ability to share images of news almost instantly.
As we saw in the recent bombings in London, folks with cell phone cameras recorded the devastation they saw in the underground and shared it with the world in almost real time fashion. These new cameras may be able to take that sort of thing to an all new level. Imagine cities that implement widespread WiFi access and photographers with WiFi cameras capturing images of news and other special events. They could transmit those images right away and let the world see them.
Here is how it works:
Nikon has released two models of digital cameras that are WiFi enabled. The idea is to be able to transmit your pictures straight from the camera to your computer or printer through a wireless adaptor. You bring up the images to transfer, hit “go”, and they get sent through the air to your printer. The Coolpix P1 and P2 will be in the $400-$550 range in pricing and the adaptor is extra.
They are competing with Kodak which released its own version of the WiFi camera in their Easy Share line of cameras this year. Kodak has already gone to making it easy to share photos by transmitting them at so called “wireless hot spots”, usually cafes or stores where wireless access is sold or given away to customers. These efforts by the leading camera makers seem aimed at adding value to their already impressive digital technology.
Digital cameras continue to be hot sellers despite what some in the industry thought would be a slowing of sales this year. Many had predicted that cell phone cameras would slow digital camera sales, but this is not happening.
If you are a leading edge gadget buyer and have a wireless mindset then you may want to be first on the block to get one of these Wi-Fi digital cameras.
If you have been thinking about buying your first digital camera, you should do a bit of research first. With the rapid progress in technology, there is a dazzling array of options to choose from in the area of digital cameras. A bit of research on your part will ensure that you buy the right camera for your needs.
There are three basic grades of digital cameras, consumer, midrange and professional. Your first step is to determine what type of camera and accessories are important to you as a photographer.
Are you looking for a fun little camera to take pictures of family celebrations? Are you more interested in developing your photography skills and becoming an expert at photo shooting and editing? No matter what your photography goal, you want good, clear pictures from a camera that is easy to use.
The four basic styles of digital cameras are:
Another consideration is the type of pictures you will be taking. Are you going to share your pictures over the internet, or are you more inclined to save them in a photo album? The camera resolution determines the quality of picture produced. A resolution of less than one mega pixel is suitable for web graphics. Resolution of one to two will give you good web graphics and good 4×6 prints. If you will be printing 5×7 photos, look for a resolution of two to three mega pixels. Resolution over six mega pixels will give you excellent quality prints up to 16 × 20.
Bigger is better when it comes to resolution. You can always set your camera to a lower resolution, but you cannot increase the maximum. You should buy the highest resolution that fits your budget.
Another important decision is battery type. Alkaline AA batteries don’t hold a charge as long as lithium batteries will, particularly if you are using a flash. However, the ability to purchase AA batteries almost anywhere can be important, especially if you travel.
Lithium batteries last a long time, but they are expensive to replace. Nickel Cadmium batteries are rechargeable. They must be fully discharged prior to recharging, or you will get very poor performance from them. Another type of rechargeable battery is the Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH). These batteries come in all standard sizes, and last about 400 charges. These are probably your best buy. Lion (Lithium Ion) batteries last about twice as long as the others last, and are generally purchased as an ‘extra’. They are a newer type of battery and not as widely available as the others are.
Some other features to explore before deciding on your new camera include size and weight. A heavier camera is easier to hold steady, a lighter camera is easier to store and carry. Some cameras offer a multiple exposure option that will let you take a preset number of exposures when you depress the button. A self-timer will allow you to automatically shoot the picture after a preset time. A remote control option will allow you to take your pictures from a distance. Other options include a time and date stamp that display the information when you are viewing your photos through the camera or software, and sound recording, which lets you add captions to your photos.
Most cameras come bundled with software that allows you to edit your pictures. The type of software varies with each camera. This should be a consideration when making your purchase.
There is no such thing as the ultimate camera. You have to consider your photography goals, your budget and your experience level to determine what camera options will be best for you.
Have you ever spent hour after unproductive hour fishing on a lake with nothing to show for it? I doubt there’s a serious angler anywhere who hasn’t had that happen to them. So, if you can relate to that, this article about the advantages of a fish finder might be just what you need.
Fish finders utilize sonar. These devices use sound waves to detect the bottom of the lake, calculate the depth, and will also detect anything between the surface and the bottom, such as fish. This technology gives the angler a huge advantage by letting you know right away whether or not there are any fish present.
Fish finders have become increasingly more sophisticated in recent years. Early fish finders simply flashed to indicate the presence of fish. But, today, with improved electronics, you can get things such as LCD’s with a wide variety of LCD types and resolution. The best fish finders today are similar to watching a color display of the water you’re fishing in and show everything with great clarity.
Fish finders vary widely in price and, like everything else, you get what you pay for. Larger units with more features will cost more. Generally, units with higher resolution will cost more than those with lower resolution. Higher resolution will give you greater detail as to what is in the water.
Many of the most popular fish finders are wrist-mounted devices and are worn just like a wrist watch. They will only have basic functions but are very mobile and easy to use. Other fish finders utilize large displays and can be mounted to your boat.
Fish finders can be found for as little as $100 and as high as several thousand dollars. There are many brands available with a wide variety of features, so it pays to do your research before you buy. You can check locally or do what most people are doing nowadays… check them out online. It faster and easier.
You can also find fish finders that include a Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS technology is great for anglers as it provides accurate information about your location. This will help you to return to that great fishing spot with ease. All you have to do is simply record the GPS coordinates of any location and you can easily find it again. The accuracy of GPS is about 9 feet so that should be good enough to find those fish again.
And one of the best benefits of GPS is the safety factor. You will never get lost as you can program your starting point and then easily find your way home… even on the largest of lakes and even in dense fog. Don’t underestimate the importance of this feature.
So, having a fish finder is a great way to increase your catch each time out. It will tell you where the fish are (and are not), give you depth information, and return you to your favorite fishing hole. And, with GPS, it will get you back home easily and safely. Do your research online and find the best fish finder to suit your needs and budget. You won’t regret it.
Have you priced a notebook computer lately? Buying a new notebook is a big investment; and just how big of an investment you want to make is entirely up to you. Look in your Sunday newspaper flyers to see countless models on sale each week. Initially selections were made by looking at the specifications and the general appearance. However that’s not the sole criteria any longer. Everyday more and more people are now stepping inside the mobile world. With so many models of notebooks now available, how can you be sure about the choice you make? Below are several factors you should consider: CPU (Central Processing Unit), Video Card, hard disk, noise, battery life and RAM (Random Access Memory).
CPU is the main component which determines the performance of your computer and also the heating and the battery life. There is a trade-off between the CPU performance and the battery-life and power consumption (heating). If you want a notebook which would replace a desktop and if you are not planning to travel with it a lot then there are several different offers with desktop CPUs integrated in the notebook main board (such as a P4).
If you are fond of mobility and are going to use your new notebook for your business purposes or school, then you should consider buying a notebook with more suitable CPUs. AMD Athlon can be a solution: Athlon processors are designed for users who are looking for economical solutions, both purchase and usage. Older models of Athlon are no where near Intel Pentium products from the point of performance, and yet new models like 2800+ are potent enough to compete with P4 2.8 GHz.
There is one more model of CPU that many of the customers prefer: Centrino. Centrino is the new attempt of Intel to balance the tradeoff between the performance and mobility issues. With the 2 MB second level cash, the Pentium CPU is modified for the notebook which eases the burden of the CPU and implicitly pulls down the levels of heating and power consumption.
RAM and the graphic card are also two important factors for the quality of the notebook. There are two kinds of RAM on the market: SD RAM and DD RAM. In any case, there is no tradeoff, no comparison: DD RAM is better, and yet, you still have to be careful about the clock specification of the RAM. If you buy a RAM with 333 MHz clock speed, you will see the performance improvement it supplies to the whole system. Another thing to consider is that some computers have 512 MB RAM with two slots (256 × 2) which is not very good for the new notebook you are going to buy. Overall, if you want a good notebook, you should consider one equipped with a 333 MHz, 512 MB, DD RAM.
There are various video cards on the market today. The first thing you should check is the “ON-Board” specification in the video card. These cards are integrated into the main board and generally use your main RAM as for the video memory. If you are going to use your notebook for general purposes, not for gaming or 3-D design which would require 3D hardware acceleration, these notebooks with onboard video card are for you. However, if you are a professional Counter Strike player, you would be disappointed with the screen delays and freezes.
The last technical detail is the hard disk. While buying a hard disk there is a detail which is much more important then the capacity: RPM. Rotation Per Minute determines how fast the data transfer rate is to the CPU to be processed so this specification also plays a huge role while dealing with multimedia stuff.
So if you’re in the market for a new notebook computer, one suggestion is to consider buying a Centrino notebook with an onboard video card with a big RAM if you are planning to use it for school or business purposes and also randomly for movies and music. Nevertheless, Pentium computers with AGP or PCI Express video off-board video cards would give you the performance of a desktop if you don’t mind the weight, noise and the heating of the notebook.
With so many decisions to make, take your time; do your homework and invest wisely.
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