Watson, come here, I need you.: Metrotalk Online November 28, 2004

Discussion Items from Today's Metrotalk:

Holiday Shopping Tips:

Consider eBay -- many deals available. There's also a very good gift wizard if you're having trouble deciding what to get someone.
Try using Froogle to shop for a bargain. It's the shopping service offerred by Google.
Encourage your friends and family to use an Amazon Wish List so they can know what you want, and order it simply on line.
Do your homework beforehand: Read reviews on CNet or Circuit City sites.

Gadgets for Teenagers:

For teenagers, the iPod is in a class by itself for portable music.
Apple’s iPod for $299: 20GB of data or audio, 5000 songs
Mini-iPod for $249: 4GB of data or audio, 1000 songs or 70 hours
iPod Accessories; JBL Encounter speakers for $199
iTunes gift cards for $15 and $25, can receive in 5 to 7 days.
The Creative Zen Micro is a nice new rival for the iPod mini: It has guilt-in FM tuner/recorder; voice recorder; lots of color choices; removable battery

Gadgets for Adults:

Consider to whom you are giving and what tech-toys they use the most.
The Treo 650, Palm's new high end cell phone/PDA combo, is out, to mixed reviews; most love the product but wish it had WiFi, more memory and better memory management, and an improved camera. But it's still an amazing device.
Which Type of DVD recorder to consider? According to Rob Pegoraro of the Washington Post, "the most important factor for a DVD recorder is disc compatibility--whether the recordings you make will work in other DVD players and computers. In this respect, there's only one clear winner, DVD+RW."
Digital Cameras? Look for cameras that use the SD card format. More pixels is not necessarily better; try them out in the store and see what you think.
Apple Airport Express for $129: A Compact and portable WiFi station that you can use at home or when traveling. Plug it into the broadband connection in your hotel home to use.

Headsets:

Consider getting a bluetooth headset for their phone, if it is Bluetooth enabled. This is a wireless headset, and they cost between $50 and $150 now.

Plantronics M2500 for $69 is rated the best.
New Plantrnoics M3500 for $89 which says it has noise canceling technology. We’ll let you know next month.)
A noise canceling Aliph Jawbone for $149. (Makes your cellular calls crystal clear by sensing when you are talking, thus elminating much ambient noise. Built in software to clean-up sound quality. But is currently only compatible with Motorala, Nokia, Ericson

Great New Concept: The Wiki:

Imagine a web site where every page has a link that says "edit this page..." and then imagine that everybody has permission to change everything. Chaos, right?
WRONG! Check out the Wikipedia for a great example of a free encyclopedia, with millions of articles, completely edited by volunteers.
Check out JotSpot for an upcoming Wiki that you'll be able to buy as a monthly service. JotSpot will also offer many enhancements over the standard Wiki including structured data, email links, subscriptions via RSS and many, many sample applications to quickly develop your own GroupWare. For the small company or organization, it will be a great way to harness the creative power of your staff or volunteers.

Don't Forget: DC Requires Hands-Free Cell Phone Use! Are you keeping your hands off the phone while you're driving?

February 2009