This post was written by Ellen Rocklin
Creative has in recent years streamlined their desktop entertainment speakers and released their Gigaworks T series product line to much fanfare. Starting with T20 to T40 and now the T3, a full fledged 2.1 system, consisting of a subwoofer and two satellites. Creative undertook the commitment of producing high quality, premium sound parts using state of the art technology and engineering. The T3 was born integrating their new SLAM (Symmetrically Loaded Acoustic Module) technology. The accessories box is superb with remote controller and satellites packed nicely in it.
Pioneer BDP-51FD’s gloss-black fascia feels more plasticky than the LX71, plus it replaces the touch-sensitive buttons found on the pricier player with normal ones, and abandons the silver trim around the play button. Had Pioneer included BD Live capability and DTS HD Master Audio decoding from the box it could have been the Blu-ray bargain of the century, but as it stands these niggling omissions - along with the sluggish disc loading and boot-up times - prevent Pioneer from earning top marks.
Dell’s P703w All-In-One Wireless Photo Printer ($199 direct) is is aimed primarily at home use, with an emphasis on photocentric features and a notable lack of features you’d want for a home office. It offers an attractive combination of output quality, speed (especially for photos), features, and initial price, but the attractiveness drops when you factor in cost per page. The essential similarity between the Kodak and Dell printers, combined with the P703w’s higher running cost, makes it hard to come up with a strong argument for buying the Dell P703w.
The Linksys WVC54GCA is a low cost fixed focus IP camera by Linksys. This camera is a second generation and has many more features than the first generation WVC54GC, for about the same price. The WVC54GCA administrative interface is very simple to use and laid out in a similar fashion to many other Linksys devices. Linksys also includes a free year of TZO.COM Dynamic DNS service with each WVC54GCA camera. The Dynamic DNS service is useful if your ISP provides you with a Dynamic IP address.
Techsmith’s Camtasia Studio 6 enables you to assemble a video from a number of clips, too, which is essential if you’re not completely fluent in front of the ‘camera’. Editing operations are not as intuitive as they could be, though. There are some handy video-wide effects. Another great tool is SmartFocus which automatically works through your clip and zooms in when it detects you’re working in a reduced area of the screen. Moreover, once the video is complete, Camtasia can render it to a number of different formats.
Microsoft’s PS3 Wireless Keypad that comes with the Xbox 360 is the best way to chat and browse the Internet on the PlayStation 3. The keypad is small so people with thicker fingers have a hard time typing away on it. Dual functionality of most keypad buttons is an added advantage. Unlike the Xbox 360 chatpad, it lacks backlight for the keys. Priced around $50, it is a bit expensive. It can act as a mouse and can be paired with any other compatible Bluetooth device.
Apple is set to introduce a new home server device. The device is reportedly an expansion of Apple’s Time Capsule platform, according to Web site 9to5Mac. Time Capsule is a device that works wirelessly with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard and provides automatic backup, and includes a wireless 500GB or 1TB hard drive designed to work with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard. Users can also share media with iPod Touch and iPhones both over the Internet and while at home, and with AppleTV as well.