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The Ice-Dozer

Yes, yes, I know, you don't need to be reminded that winter is fast approaching. (We seemingly dodged a doozy this week if you believed the worst-case scenarios put forth in some weather projections.)

When the snow and ice inevitably shows up this winter, you just might need this bad boy. Available from the Harrington catalog, the description on this ice-scraper-on-roids is as follows:

The common ice scraper has a few flaws. Flimsy blades not tough enough for hard ice. Flat scraping edge that clears just a sliver, because it won't conform to the shape of curved windshields. And cheap handles that give no leverage. Other than that, they're perfect. Ice Dozer is big and rugged, and won't be overmatched by thick snow or hard glaze ice. Apply pressure to the palm handle, and the oversized blade flexes to match the curve of your windshield, clearing a 7" swath, instead of a sliver of glass. Front plow pushes snow and ice ahead of you, away from sleeves and wrists. Two different sets of ice-cracking teeth pulverize the hardest glare ice in short order. And ergonomic handles give you all the grip you'll need to clear your windshield in no time, and have fun doing it!

Check out Bruce's other blogs at http://www.bruceallenmedia.com

Posted by bruceallen at 03:13 PM | Comments (1)

Woot! - A daily must-visit.

If you haven't discovered Woot! yet, then I don't know what you're doing in life.

For the uninitiated, Woot! is a site which features just one product a day. One (usually) techno-product which is for the most part being offered at a huge discount. Many times it's something that is being closed out and thus you can get a fabulous deal on it. Other times it is a new product that is being launched and you're getting a special offer on it.

Occasionally, (maybe once a month or so) the site has what they call a Woot-off, where they sale a bunch of items, (one at a time) on the site through-out the day, until they are all gone.

I've bought a few things off the site, and have been pleased with all them. Shipping is always $5.00, no matter how big or small the item.

Check it out...you won't be disappointed!

Check out Bruce Allen's newly launched home site at http://www.bruceallenmedia.com

Posted by bruceallen at 11:03 AM | Comments (1)

Axion Personal DVD Player

You see some pretty small DVD players out there these days, aimed at the travelers...people who fly often, or take public transportation, or who have kids and are going on a long trip. This is one of the cooler personal DVD Players that I've seen.

Some of the features, as described on the Axion product page.

• Hi-Res 4.2" Widescreen LCD screen for easy viewing (screen measured diagonally)
  
• Convenient top-loading DVD/CD/MP3 player
  
• Built-in Axi-Port for connecting to TV tuner or SEGA(TM) game pad.
  
• Stereo A/V output jack for supporting an external TV monitor—enjoy at home or on the go
  
• Built-in stereo speakers
  
• AC/DC (Car Cord) adapters included
  
• Kickstand for easy desktop use
  
• Two stereo Hi-Fi headphone jacks
  

  Posted by bruceallen at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)

  October 14, 2005

  USB TV Tuner

  Keeping this week's theme of USB Dongles, (Yes, a technical term) we present you today with the TerraTec Cinergy Hybrid USB TV Tuner.
  Unfortunately, right now it is only available in Europe, however I would think we'd get something like this over here pretty quick.

  If you're toting a laptop around, you just plug this bad boy in, and you'd be watching TV on your computer. At home you can plug in to your roof antenna, or into your analog cable feed. On the road, it has a built in compact antenna to pick up over the air signals. If comes with a number of accessories including a remote control.

  One of the neatest things is that you can also record anything you're watching on it directly to your hard drive. So it's like having an instant DVR.

  Another review.

  Posted by bruceallen at 02:57 PM | Comments (3)

  October 11, 2005

  Stealth Surfer - Surf the Web anonymously...anywhere!

  Stealth Surfer - "Your key to portable, private surfing."

  This little USB gadget contains powerful tools to allow you to surf the web on any computer, and do so privately. Contained in the flash drive of the stick are:
  

  
  
  • Firefox - high-speed browser with enhanced security
    
  • Anonymizer - anonymous surfing complete network security and IP masking
    
  • RoboForm - one-click form-fill with secure user ID/password management application
    
  • Thunderbird - portable e-mail access
    
  • Hushmail - high security web based e-mail solution
    
    
    All of your cookies, temp files, personal information, etc are stored directly on the device. It comes in four sizes, starting at 128MB for $99 and going up to 1 GB for $299.

    Posted by bruceallen at 01:12 PM | Comments (2)

    October 06, 2005

    Be like Manny

    Over the summer, there was quite a little scandal on the sports talk radio airwaves when Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez was shown to have been playing the field wearing a pair of Oakley Thump sunglasses, which happen to have an MP3 player built in.

    Do you want to be like Manny? Later this month (October 28) Oakley is releasing the Thump 2 edition.

    From the Oakley Website, here are some of the specs on the new specs:
    

    
    
    • Absolute music freedom with no wires or cords to dangle or tangle
      Store up to 240 songs on the 1 GB version, up to 120 songs on the 512 MB version, or up to 60 songs on the 256 MB version
      
    • Solid-state NAND flash memory with no moving parts
      
    • Up to 6 hours of playback time on a single charge
      
    • Three-color indicator light to show battery level
      
    • 75MHz DSP with 18-bit Sigma Delta DAC for state-of-the-art audio fidelity
      
    • Custom Mylar speakers with three directions of movement for precise positioning
      
    • Patented XYZ Optics® for razor sharp clarity at all angles of vision, even at lens periphery
      
    • Lens contours that maximize protection against sun, wind and side impact
      
    • Plutonite® lens material to filter out 100% of all UVA, UVB, UVC and harmful blue light
      
    • Durable and lightweight O Matter® frame material
      
    • Supports storage of data files along with song files
      
    • Includes High Speed USB cable for transferring song files from Mac or Windows PC
      

    The prices start at $299 for the 256 MB, $349 for the 512 MB and $449 for the 1 GB version.
    

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

    October 03, 2005

    Windows Mobile-powered Treo 700w from Verizon Wireless

    Verizon Wireless, along with Palm and Microsoft (How's that for strange bedfellows?) has announced the newest version of the popular Treo smart phone, this one operating on Windows Mobile.
    I have the Treo 650 with the Palm operating system, but would much prefer the Windows edition. Unfortunately my phone is controlled through my employer, so I don't have control over getting an upgrade, but perhaps I can encourage them to do so.

    Some of the features:
    

    
    
    • Windows Mobile 5.0
      
    • 1 MP Camera
      
    • 64MB Memory
      
    • Bluetooth
      
    • EV-DO
      
    • 240x240 Screen
      
    • Countless Apps, games and utilities
      

    If the device had WiFi also available, that would make it even more attractive in my mind, as the one drawback to my Treo is when I'm inside an area where I can't get a good Cellular signal, but there is a wireless network in place.

    In the future you'll see that, as people will even be able to use their VoIP phones wirelessly and across other networks.

    Very cool stuff.

    
    

    Posted by bruceallen at 01:26 PM | Comments (0)