The Gadgets Page

I love it when rumors fly. I like to catch them with a butterfly net and put them all into one big cage. You are looking at a teaser that Volkswagen has released for the VW Atacama. It was based on their Crafter model, which is competition for the Sprinter. That means it has the body of a van that is meant to trek across the city delivering flowers or medical supplies.

It is also rumored to be an off-roading vehicle. With a 2.5L 5-cylinder turbo diesel (164 horse-power), a 6-speed transmission, and 285/55 R 20 off-road tires, it might be good enough for some of the easier trails. Whether it can tackle off-road trails rated above a four probably depends more on the driver than the vehicle. It looks a little top-heavy, though, so I wonder how it would perform.

Finally, there are rumors floating around that it is also a camping van. Any hippies who are fondly reminded of the Westfalia-converted camping vans made by Volkswagen can drool over the Atacama as much as they want. Volkswagen is keeping mighty tight-lipped about the features that are available if they ever put this vehicle into production.

In fact, VW has really dropped the ball on this. Their website for the U.S. doesn’t mention the Atacama at all, even as a teaser advertisement. If you type “Atacama” into their search field, it returns no results. That’s not the case for Google, however. People are talking about this van and they’re excited. Why would VW lose out on that buzz?

Here is where some of the buzz came from (there was so much, I just linked to the first few entries):

• VW Crafter Atacama Concept – Autoblog

• Camper Van Beethoven: VW Reveals Atacama Concept – Jalopnik

• Straightline – VW Atacama concept

• Volkswagen Crafter Atacama Concept

• Atacama VW concept van sees light of day news story in Cars – Pocket-lint.co.uk

I don’t know about you, but it has happened to me a million times. I am at a store and I see something that I want to buy, but can I get a better deal online? It’s not something I desperately need, so if I can save ten bucks by ordering it online, maybe I should. The only problem with that is I need to go home to check the prices online.

Not anymore.

Now, you can call one phone number, type in the product’s barcode into your phone and it will tell you the prices online. It’s Frucall and it’s what you have been wishing for.

• Frucall: Online Comparison Shopping Web site for Mobile Shoppers

Program this phone number into your cellphone right now: 1-888-363-7822. The call is free. You don’t need to set up an account. You don’t need to give them your email. The service is paid for by sponsors, so expect to hear a commercial or two. I can listen to a commercial in order to prevent a drive home to check prices. Just try it out. If you hate it, never call it again.

I tested this out on a couple of bar codes that I had lying around at home and the only company that they quoted prices for was TigerDirect. TigerDirect usually has some good prices, but Amazon beats them sometimes, so that might be a fatal flaw in this service. Additionally, remember that prices include estimated shipping and handling. If you see a price that’s better on a different online site, it might be because they haven’t included shipping. I haven’t checked to see if the prices on EVERY product on the planet are accurate, however. If you call it and find that they are screwing up, please leave a comment here and tell the world about it.

I used to live in an apartment with a balcony. I had plants in boxes lined along the edges, but none of them looked as good as these Steckling Pots from rephormhaus.

• rephormhaus – Steckling

Even if we live in tight and cramped quarters, there is a desire to nuture things. These pots give you the chance to improve your surroundings without the rust and decay of planter box holders.

This photo actually gives you a better idea of the design of the pot. I was worried that they wouldn’t be sturdy or be so narrow at the top that they wouldn’t fit over most railings, but it looks like it will be stable. Add a little greenery to your balcony or fire escape. You will feel like you have a garden right outside your window.

Via: Pro domácnost | Gadgets.cz

I’ve seen you do it. Maybe you own a cellphone, but you really only use it to make calls. When people call you, your voice mailbox hasn’t been set up and even if it was, you wouldn’t listen to the messages.

Or maybe you use a computer at work. You do exactly what you were trained to do with the computer and have a list of buttons to push in a little notebook on your desk. It’s like a book of incantations that make the computer go. When someone suggests something different that you could do using the computer you already have, you go pale.

Are you one of those people? Do you let gadgets intimidate you? Are you still in your incantation phase? Here are some tips on how to get past it and become more gadget-saavy.

• Read the instruction manual: I know that instruction manuals are written as if the author hates you, but struggle through it. Usually, there is barely enough information to figure things out. Think of your instruction manual as a guide. It doesn’t want to ruin the story for you. It just wants to give you enough clues to get you discovering the intricacies of your gadget on your own.

• You can’t break it: Okay, I lied. You CAN break it, but you pretty much have to drop, throw or stomp on it to break it. Pushing buttons NEVER breaks it. I know it seemed like you broke it before, but you didn’t. Sure, you can push the wrong buttons and get to a weird screen that you’ve never been to before, but breathe deeply and figure out how to get out of that screen.

• Play with it: I know your computer is there to balance your checkbook and read email, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play with it as well. Every gadget has some really fun feature that you would absolutely love if you just knew it existed. Maybe it’s the macro feature on your camera that lets you take pictures of bugs up close and personal. Maybe it’s the instant messaging on your phone that lets you send snarky comments to your buddy across the room. Maybe it’s the solitaire game already installed on your computer. Whatever it is, you’ll never get to enjoy it unless you do a little exploring and play with your gadget.

• Ask a guru: You know who I’m talking about. There are always gurus in your life. They’re the people who you bug when you think you’ve broken something. If you ask them to show you something cool, they will be a lot less bugged. Don’t ask them to do it for you. Ask them to tell you how to do it yourself. They will open right up for you and tell you all the nifty features you never knew your gadget had.

Your gadgets were made to be used. Not using them not only cheats the gadgets out of their totally cool factor, but cheats you out of some of the features that you have purchased. You wouldn’t buy a stove and only use it to bake cookies? Heck no! There’s a whole world of Ramen noodles, pot roasts and homemade bread out there to be made. Just like you use your stove to the fullest, make sure you use your other gadgets for what they were destined.

Don’t let anything intimidate you, especially an inanimate object. You deserve to master all of your gadgets!

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The media seems to think that the electric car market is heating up. I actually started to get excited when I started reading about the new electric cars that are being designed and marketed lately.

Unfortunately, they still suck. I don’t need much in a car. It doesn’t need to be really cool or go super fast. I need a car to run around town and get me out of town when I’m sick of it here. In short, I need a car that can get me to Vegas in a single day. According to Google Maps, that’s 419 miles. EVERY new electric car on the market and being conceived falls short of that simple criteria. Oh yeah, I refuse to pay more for a car than a house.

Of the cars listed in the USA Today article above, here is how they compete:

Tesla:

• Top Speed: 130 mph

• Acceleration: 0 to 60 in 4.0 seconds

• Range: 250 miles

• Cost: $100,000

• Energy Consumption: 177 WHr/mile in urban use, equivalent to 150 mpg

Wrightspeed:

• Top Speed: 112 mph (electronically limited)

• Acceleration: 0 to 60 in 3.0 seconds

• Range: 200 miles

• Cost: $100,000

• Energy Consumption: 200 WHr/mile in urban use, equivalent to 170 mpg

Zap Xebra:

• Top Speed: 40 mph

• Acceleration: not stated

• Range: 40 miles

• Cost: Under $10,000

• Energy Consumption: not stated

Obvio 828E:

• Top Speed: 120 mph

• Acceleration: 0 – 60 in 4.5 seconds

• Range: 240 miles

• Cost: $49,000

• Energy Consumption: not stated

GEM – E4:

• Top Speed: 25 mph (electronically limited)

• Acceleration: not stated

• Range: 30 miles

• Cost: $9,695

• Energy Consumption: not stated

Some of these cars seem to be merely glorified golf carts. Others clearly don’t even exist yet. So far, my favorite is the Obvio 828E, but it’s not available. By the time it is, it may be that a better company will have developed an electric car that can get me to Vegas on one charge. Until then, I’m still waiting until electric cars stop sucking.

Via: USATODAY.com – Electric cars lighting up again

Weird Al’s new song, White and Nerdy, prominently features a Segway in its video. Just when I thought that Segways were going the way of horse-drawn carriages and had been relegated to tourist traps, Weird Al blows them right into the public eye again.

I found this article quite a while ago. Steven Jones took the time to write down his thoughts about living with his Segway for a year. He has talked to hundreds of people on his streets and answered as many questions. He shares some of the dumbest with you:

• TechLore.com – One Year With Segway – Reflections and Recollections

He comes off as a sarcastic jerk when you read his Dumbest Questions section, but it’s an interesting article and a good explanation of why his very expensive Segway is actually better than your inexpensive bicycle.

Via: One Segway User’s Reflections and Recollections after One Year @ Alice Hill’s Real Tech News – Independent Tech

I wrote a review of the Nike Imara Heart Rate Monitor on Starling Fitness. You can see it here:

• Starling Fitness » Review: The Nike Imara Heart Rate Monitor

Finding a watch that I am happy with is a difficult task for me. I got my Imara for Christmas last year.

“I haven’t done a review for it. Want to know why?”

“I don’t like to give bad reviews.”

Just last month, I realized that I actually DO like my watch:

“I love how it tracks my calories and how much time I exercise in the low, medium and high ranges. I love that it’s water resistant up to 50M, so if I’m lazy, I don’t even have to take it off when I shower. In fact, I’ve been wearing my Nike Imara almost constantly ever since I got it. That is unheard of for me, since I used to change watches like jewelry.”

“That’s when I realized that I love my Nike Imara.”

“It still doesn’t work whenever I run on my treadmill, but it has been a watch that’s a good friend for almost a year now. It’s so rare for me to find a watch that I enjoy that when I finally found one, it took me 10 months to realize that I actually loved it.”

I’ve talked in the past about why I hate the watch designers of this world. The Nike Imara doesn’t fulfill all of my desires in a watch, namely, it’s not pretty enough to wear with a dress. Also, it’s a little on the big side, even though it’s a women’s watch. Despite that, I have enjoyed this watch for the last 10 months without even realizing I was content. This little guy slipped in under my radar and I didn’t even notice.

When I’m not playing my DS alone with Animal Crossing, all my group Nintendo DS time is spent with Mario Kart. I look back at myself from before a time when I owned anything by Nintendo. Would that girl understand the draw of Mario Kart? Could I explain to her how intensely fun it is? What would a conversation with her be like?

Laura of the Present: Oh man! You have GOT to get yourself a Nintendo DS!

Laura of the Past: Yeah, I know! I can’t wait to play that Brain Age game!

Laura of the Present: No, forget about that, seriously. You’ll play it religiously for a month and then quit. In fact, you’ll probably like Big Brain Academy better, but that’s another story.

Laura of the Past: Why do I need a DS then, smartie pants?

Laura of the Present: There’s this game called Mario Kart! It will totally…

Laura of the Past: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. It’s a racing game. We were going to buy it for Kristen on the Gamecube. It’s just a racing game. It can’t compare to Project Gotham or Colin McRae.

Laura of the Present: No, seriously. Mario Kart is WAY funner than either one of those.

Laura of the Past: Why?

I can tell she doesn’t believe me.

Laura of the Present: Because you can play against Stacey and Dan and Mike all at the same time. I think you can play eight people total. It totally rocks!

Laura of the Past: Everyone plays on my DS? How can you split a screen EIGHT ways?

Laura of the Present: No, listen to me. Mario Kart is THE reason that Mike, Stacey AND Dan are all going to buy DSes of their own. All four of you are going to play race after race against each other until your right thumb hurts so bad you can’t hold a pencil. Seriously, it’s THAT fun. They don’t split the screen, each of you can only see the race from your point of view on your screen. Remember how confused you get with the split screen because you realize halfway through the race that you’ve been looking at Mike’s car instead of your own. You won’t even remember that problem with Mario Kart. It’s that easy.

Laura of the Past: Umm…

I’m not convincing her. What can I tell her that will convince her that this game is MORE than awesome?!

Laura of the Present: You get to choose your character and your kart. The more you play, the more karts you open up.

Laura of the Past: Yeah, so what. I can do that with Project Gotham.

Laura of the Present: No, this is totally better. You get to be Toad!

Laura of the Past: I get to be a toad? What, like a frog?

Oh, man! How do I describe Toad to her? How do I describe that level of cuteness? He’s more than a mushroom. He’s Toad! I can’t do it!

Laura of the Present: Nevermind that!

What is the killer app? Oh yeah, the turtle shells!

Laura of the Present: You get to shoot Stacey with turtle shells…

Laura of the Past: I get to shoot Stacey?

She’s interested, now reel her in…

Laura of the Present: Yeah, Stacey, Dan and Mike. You get to trip them with banana peels, shoot them with shells, turn them into itsy-bitsy tiny karts that can fall through the mesh into the lava.

Laura of the Past: I get to push them into lava?

I’ve got her!

Laura of the Present: Yep! Plus, you can push them into water and outer space!

Laura of the Past: Outer space?

Oops! I went too far. She’s not buying the outer space thing. How could I describe Rainbow Ridge in a way that makes sense?! Oh man, there’s no way! Just drop it!

Laura of the Present: Yeah, but only on one race. That’s not important. The important thing is that you need to get yourself a DS.

Laura of the Past: Okay, I’ll buy one right now.

Laura of the Present: Nope. You gotta wait until they come out with the DS Lite because the screen is brighter. Don’t wait too long, though, ’cause then you’ll be tempted to buy the pink one. You don’t want to buy the pink one.

Laura of the Past: I hate pink.

Laura of the Present: You won’t hate this pink, trust me.

Laura of the Past: Now I KNOW you’re lying to me.

My nephew came over for a visit. I told him to bring all his DS and GBA games so I could try them out. I wanted to see if there was anything fun out there and his selection is completely different than mine. I played with about eight or nine games before I put his Animal Crossing into my DS Lite. I didn’t expect to like it anymore than the previous mind-numbing games. I was expecting Sims for kids. I hated the Sims, so I had zero hope for Animal Crossing.

How could I have been so wrong?!

My nephew hadn’t played in a long time and his town had fallen into disrepair with garbage all over the ground. Additionally, there were cool things to pick up (so many that my pockets were full very quickly). I played with his game Saturday evening for about four hours while he and Mike endlessly played the mini-games on Super Monkey Ball.

Sunday morning, I was on the phone with the local game store trying to find out how soon they opened. I had to wait until noon to buy my own copy of the game.

That’s when the really interesting thing happened…

I bought a used game at the store.

“Do you guys clear out these cards when you get them or am I going to have to delete the previous owner’s stuff?”

“We don’t do anything with them. If it doesn’t work, bring it back, but yes, you’ll probably have to delete the old stuff.”

“Does this come with the book?”

“Nope, just the card.”

I saved five dollars, but ended up not getting the book. Oh well, Mike assured me that if I get stuck, I can figure out things online.

When I put the used Animal Crossing game into my DS, I was confronted with a very different world than my nephew’s. It was a barren desert. “I guess you can choose the climate when you build your world, Mike. Look at this one it’s a desert.” There were few trees and lots of sand. It looked hot, barren and desolate; kind of like Northern Nevada.

I deleted the previous owner’s town, Las Habras, and waded through all the warnings about killing everyone in the town and never being able to get them back. I felt guilty for massacring the citizens of Las Habras, but I wanted to start a town of my own. One that wasn’t a desert and didn’t have litter and garbage all over.

When I set up my town, Merriton, I realized the truth. Las Habras wasn’t a desert because you get to choose the climate. Las Habras was a desert because the previous owner had killed all the insects, fish and plants. After playing with Las Habras and my nephew’s towns, I never even knew that there were insects that you could catch. I couldn’t find any because they had all been caught to extinction. Las Habras was a desert because some of the resources are limited. My nephew had garbage everywhere because his town was neglected. The only way to keep my town beautiful and garden-like was to limit how many fish and insects I caught. I would have to spend my money on plants and saplings instead of furniture, wall coverings, carpeting and clothing.

Saddest of all, when I visited my town’s museum, all I could find were empty exhibit halls. I walked past the empty aquariums and galleries with a sad sense of guilt. My job would be to fill the museum with all that my town had to offer.

I played for eight hours on Sunday just earning money to pay off my humble house (with no plans on upgrades) and catching fish and insects for the museum. When I catch a fish or insect that the museum already has, I release it. I haven’t figured out how to fill the museum with paintings yet and I haven’t bought a shovel yet, so I haven’t found any dinosaur fossils. My whole goal is to create a museum that makes me happy to visit and keep the town beautiful. I love to walk around and hear the crickets. I love to see the butterflies. I want them to stay in my town.

Most importantly, I don’t want Merriton to become a desert.

Whenever the other characters in the game tell me that my house is small or plain, I don’t care because I don’t want a cool house. In fact, when they give me things to put in my house, I either regift them or sell them. I’d rather sell wallpaper than fish. Once they are sold to Tom Nook, they are gone forever.

It seems like the fruit on the trees and the seashells are renewable resources, so that is how I have been paying off my house. I use the cherries and seashells to pay off my debt and the fish and insects go to the museum.

Why is it that I’m obsessed with Merriton, but I couldn’t have cared less about whether my Sims did their dishes or practiced for their acting career? Is it a world just different enough from my own world that I am completely lost? Is it the cute characters and how funny they are?

I don’t know. All I know is that I’m withholding Animal Crossing privileges until I get my real world chores done. It’s that motivating and enjoyable.

Update 10-16-06: After weeks of obsessing over this game, I have written a follow-up. You can read it here:

• The Gadgets Page » Nintendo DS: Animal Crossing Update

I love to play karaoke. I have a hard time finding anyone who is willing to play with me, so half the time I play alone at home. It looks like IBM has teamed up with Xing to create a small wireless karaoke machine that has access to thousands of songs.

• IBM Press room – 2006-09-29 IBM and Xing Revolutionize the Karaoke Experience Through Collaboration – United States

Unlike the karaoke bar standbys, you would no longer have to have a huge karaoke song book and punch in a code to play. Instead you merely browse the lists on the touch screen and choose the song you want. It looks like this isn’t the first of its kind in Japan, here is another wireless karaoke machine:

• Translated version of JoySound – Kiyoku Navi

The Google translation isn’t much better than just trying to read the Japanese, but it does show what the older versions of the Kiyoku NAVI looked like. It included games in addition to the karaoke play.

There are so many cool things that are being created in Japan that just aren’t released here. I wonder if this new IBM and Xing collaboration will result in more things being released here in the U.S.A. or if it will just go back to Japan and we’ll never see it.

Via: IBM stars in new Wi-Fi karaoke device | CNET News.com