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Logitech Harmony Remote

The Logitech® Harmony® 520 Advanced Universal Remote is set to hit Wal*Mart stores with the price of $99.If you've got several devices in your home entertainment center and as many remotes, you're likely looking for a remote that can control them all. High end remote controls can actually cost in the thousands of dollars. (No joke) This one, however has some nice features at a price that while still more than you might be used to paying for a remote, won't break the bank for you. Here's a few of the features as described on their website.

• Take complete control: The Harmony 520 gives you full control of up to 12 devices. The Logitech database contains over 2,500 manufacturers and over 80,000 IR devices--everything from HDTVs to PVR/DVRs, from DVDs to VCRs--even lighting controls! The database is updated daily, so it's guaranteed to work with all models and manufacturers.


• Set it up in a snap! The Harmony Set-up Wizard does the programming, so you don't have to. Just connect your remote to your computer and answer a few questions about you currently use your home theater. Logitech's patented Smart State Technology® does the rest.


• Control your entire home entertainment system with just one button. Choose the "Watch a DVD" activity and the Harmony Remote will power on your TV, DVD player, stereo receiver, set all the inputs, and even press "Play!"


• Fully backlit keypad
  Backlighting makes the buttons and interactive display glow brightly for easy use in the dark.


• Interactive display
  Easy-to-read interactive display keeps you in control and informed of what's going on.


• Learning port
  Just point your original remote at the Learning Port to capture and use any infrared command with the Harmony Remote.


• Computer-based Harmony Set-up Wizard
  For quick and easy set-up.

Posted by bruceallen at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)

Five (Six) Reasons to buy a DVR NOW...

DVR...PVR...they're pretty much the same. The next generation of VCR, if you will. You can record off of television, and instead of having tapes everywhere, the video is stored on a hard drive in the unit.

I just got a DVR from Comcast a few weeks ago,and it really has made some changes in my life. I actually don't watch a whole lot of TV, aside from sports, Law & Order and the occasional movie. Ok, so that still takes up four hours or so every day...

Anyway...check out this list of the Top Five Reasons to buy a PVR Now. The title says five reasons, but they really give you six. Without the details, here are the six reasons:

• Reason #1: You’ll always have something to watch


• Reason #2: Skip 20,000 commercials a year


• Reason #3: Skip the Boring Parts


• Reason #4: Never Miss a Favorite Show


• Reason #5: Watch your Favorite Show when you want


• Reason #6: Pause Live Action

Click on the link above for the full explanations on each of these reasons.

Posted by bruceallen at 12:15 PM | Comments (0)

LG VX9800 coming to Verizon Wireless next Monday

For those of you who have to have the latest and greatest in cell phone technology, we bring you the LG VX9800, which will be available from Verizon Wireless starting next Monday, September 26.

Some of the features of this device:

• Full QWERTY keyboard


• 320×256 pixel main display


• 160 x 128 pixel external display


• EV-DO high-speed data


• 1.3 megapixel camera with flash


• stereo speakers


• Mini SD


• Bluetooth

Dang. My Treo 650 looks big, clunky and OLD in comparison.

As mentioned, this should be available through Verizon Wireless next Monday, and is expected to retail at around $299.00. You might be able to find some sort of rebate or other deal though.

Posted by bruceallen at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

No Gadgets for James Bond?

OK...maybe a tad outside the scope of this blog...

But as both a gadgets fanatic and a huge fan of the James Bond series, this report from the BBC was of interest.

James Bond writer 'reinvents' spy

Basically the big news in that piece is that in the next James Bond movie, Bond will be 28, there will be no "Q" and Bond will not have any gadgets at his disposal.

I actually welcome this as the original Bond of the Ian Fleming novels didn't have the gadgets you see on the big screen, (though he did have some)relying more on his wits and toughness. The Bond blog linked below went chapter by chapter through Casino Royale if you're interested in the story on which the new movie will be loosely based.

Related:

James Bond's Gadgets
James Bond 007 Blog

Posted by bruceallen at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)

High Tech Hearing Aid

Hopefully I'm a few decades away from needed to wear a hearing aid, but if I needed one now, I think this add-on would be needed as well.

In addition to helping you hear better, you can also pick up phone calls on your bluetooth enabled phone! A combination hearing aid/Bluetooth headset? Yup.

I use a bluetooth earpiece with my Treo, but usually only when I'm in the car. It just isn't loud enough to use in public areas. A hearing aid with it might just do the trick!

The tiny device, which is available for about $300, plugs into the bottom of most hearing aids that are designed to be worn behind the ear. Incoming calls are routed directly from the phone to the ELI and then the hearing aid. A tiny microphone on the end of the ELI device picks up the users' side of the conversation and transmits it back to the phone.

Source: New York Times Article.

Posted by bruceallen at 11:26 AM | Comments (0)

Sony Recalling some PS2 AC adaptors

If you've got a Sony PS2 - one of the slim ones, your AC adapter that came with the game might be subject to a recall just announced.

Apparently these are being recalled as a "precautionary measure".

Check your game, and if you have one of the affected models, click on the link above to start the process towards getting your replacement.

Posted by bruceallen at 01:40 PM | Comments (3)

iPod Nano

While watching the Patriots game last night, (in HDTV naturally) one of the ads that caught my eye was for the iPod Nano.

Wow!

This thing is thin,(as you see to the right, about the thickness of a pencil...) and very, very swank. It is available in 2GB (about 500 songs) and 4GB (about 1000 songs) sizes, and starts at $199.

There are plenty of accessories available for this device, to play in your car, around your neck, or wherever else you need your music fix.

According to the Apple website, you should be able to purchase this at either Circuit City in Newington, or at Bullmoose Music in downtown Portsmouth.

Hmmm, two straight posts on music gadgets, and I'm not really even a big musical buff...

Posted by bruceallen at 03:42 PM | Comments (1)

Not Your Parent's Walkman

Sony Europe today unveiled the newest version of the Walkman.

As you can see, this is not the same Walkman that you perhaps grew up with in the 1980's, playing your cassette tunes while you worked out, walked, or engaged in anti-social behavior in your room.

From the Sony site:

Sony WALKMAN, available in two capacity sizes - 20GB (NW-A3000) and 6GB (NW-A1000), also features two new shuffle functions. By selecting ‘My Favorite Shuffle’, the device automatically selects the most listened to 100 songs and plays them at random. The ‘Time Machine Shuffle’ function randomly selects a year and plays all of the songs from that particular year that are currently held on the device.

Featuring an advanced organic EL display (2 inches on the 20GB version and 1.5 inches on the 6GB model), Sony WALKMAN not only incorporates a range of great features, it also offers the ultimate in ease of use through an appealing user interface and fantastic visibility.

A number of accessories will be available for the new unit, which will roll out in Europe later this year. No word on when and if a US version will be available.

Posted by bruceallen at 10:27 AM | Comments (1)

Win an HDTV from ESPN

ESPN is giving away 100 HDTV sets as part of a special promotion. How does it work? Well as that link tells us:

Viewers can win by watching for a codeword that will appear within a 10-second video promo during every game or pre-game telecast that airs on the two HD channels. The viewer can then log on to a special Web site to register under that codeword. The winners will be announced on ESPN radio show Mike and Mike in the Morning.

Now wait a minute...in order to win, you have to see a codeword that appears on an HD broadcast and then register with that codeword at the web site. So apparently, viewers who don't currently have an HDTV, and who would thus be most interested in winning one, won't be able to see the codeword.

Makes sense to me.

Posted by bruceallen at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)

Hello World...

The first entry of a new blog is always the toughest. You want to try to set the tone for the rest of the blog, yet blogs by nature evolve over time. So I could write something in here, and then in the future come back and wonder what I was thinking.

I want to focus on new technologies here, and bring you some of the latest advances and gadgets. I'd also like to try to bring a connection to Portsmouth and the seacoast occasionally.

The focus is going to be mainly on consumer products, but I'll likely throw in some commercial and business things as well.

For today, I thought I'd talk about our local cable company for a few minutes. Yes, the prices are very high. There's no disputing that. I do wish there was some competition for cable services in the area. However, I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the level of service and the offerings that I get from Comcast. I also like that they are always rolling out new features and services.

Here's what I get from them on a monthly basis:

Digital Cable
HDTV channels
DVR (digital video recorder) capable of recording both regular and HD broadcasts
High Speed Internet

For all of that I'm paying a stiff monthly bill, yet I use all of it, and it does for the most part provide entertainment when I want it. (Though I have to say, last night my girlfriend and I eschewed a trip to the movies and said "We'll find something on cable or On Demand" - we found nothing we wanted to see.)

I'll talk more about my setup as time goes on, as this entry has already become way too long...

Bruce Allen welcomes your emails and suggestions at bruceallenATgmailDOTcom. Check out some of his other blogs at BSMW and Bruce Allen Media. (still in beta)

Posted by bruceallen at 10:54 AM | Comments (0)

About this Blog

Increases in technology have impacted our lives in almost every facet. A mere 10 years ago, email was something that was just impacting the office environment, and now we can't go 5 minutes without checking our 4 or 5 different email accounts. The internet has changed the way we get information, shop and even meet people.

There is software for every need, from organizing your day to planning your meals for the week, to cataloging your DVD and CD collection. Some of us have even moved past CDs and keep all music in MP3 files and load up the IPod every morning before heading to work. Satellite radio is taking over large shares of the audience that used to tune into local AM and FM stations. Your car might have an OnStar or some sort of guidance system which makes it so you don't have to get out and ask for directions.

In your living room, you might record your favorite programs or sporting events on your TiVO or DVR and then play them back on your High Definition television. Digital Cable allows you to pause and rewind shows that are being fed to you directly from the cable company. All this plays through your home theatre speaker system which makes you feel as if your in the middle of the action.

In the kitchen you might have a microwave that is also a toaster as well as a convection oven. Your refrigerator and stove even look different from the appliances in your parents house growing up. You've got a drawer full of kitchen gadgets, some of which you don't even remember what they're supposed to do.

Your cell phone...is it a phone? Or an organizer? Or a portable messaging center with which you can send and receive text messages as well as email and voice mails? It is a camera? Do you surf the internet while sitting at a stop light, or use it to check the scores while spending the evening out on the town?

Keep up with all of this can be daunting, especially since once we figure out how to use something, a newer and better model is out there, begging us to purchase it. This blog will bring you some of the newest products out there as well as pointing you to some helpful products and tips that can make your life a bit easier. Feel free to send in your own tips and experiences to bruceallen@gmail.com

Posted by bruceallen at 09:39 PM | Comments (0)