I don’t travel as much as I used to for work.  But I still remember traveling enough to know what a pain it has become.  With extra security measures and fees, flying hardly seems worth it anymore.  Now, when I used to travel a lot, I would frequently have a backpack with all of my necessities and gadgets, and also a separate camera bag with my photography and video gear.  This worked fine at the time, but anymore it would create several problems.  First, I have considerably more photography gear now than I used to (not to mention nicer and more expensive gear).  Second, security just drools at the guy holding several bags.  Third, I am pretty sure they charge you by carry-on bag, and I spent too much money on my camera to be able to afford the fees for the second bag.  So, what am I to do?  I don’t want to leave my camera unprotected in my backpack.  That just would not do.  And like I said, carrying two bags is not a great option anymore.  What I need is a single bag that can merge my backpack and camera bag together.  What I need is the Naneu Pro Adventure K3L.  Let’s take a closer look.

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Can you folks believe that it is July already?  Here we are deep in the heart of summer vacation season.  You probably have places to go (or come home from) and Navigon aims to get you there and back again.  Their latest GPS, the 2100 Max is the perfect portable navigation system for the intrepid traveler.  Let’s take a closer look.

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Not long ago, I had the opportunity to review Adobe’s PhotoShop Elements 6, which is probably the best consumer level photo editor.  It basically takes all of the tools the pros use and bundles them into easy to use menus and wizards for the average user.  The problem I have is that even with Photoshop, I am still left with hundreds (if not thousands) of photos in my “shoebox” of a hard drive,  What to do?  I mean, I don’t just want to say, here is a folder, have at it, when I show people my pictures.  I want them to see my pictures pleasantly arranged in a manner which provides context and makes them enjoyable to look at.  Enter Lumapix with the answer to the second half of my digital photo equation: FotoFusion.

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In case you have not been able to tell from my plethora of media player and headphone reviews, I am something of an audiophile (heck, I was even a DJ at parties and weddings in college).  I have built my home theatre system over the past couple of years, carefully selecting each component.  The one thing which has always eluded me, however, are quality speakers which will fit in my space without sacrificing sound quality.  I have a set of bookshelf speakers that I got in law school.  They were cheap…and they sound cheap.  Not terrible, but nothing to write home about.  They are small speakers and they offer a relatively small sound.  And yes, over ten years later, they are badly in need of replacement.  So, I was extremely intrigued when we received an email from Orb Audio asking for a review of their Mod 2 speaker system.

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In the future, everyone will drive flying cars (that fold up into a briefcase.  In the future, computers will prepare our meals instantly.  In the future, robots will do all of the household chores.   And in the future, there will be no passwords.  Instead,will access our data sing biometric security features.  No, that does not mean you will have super strength or x-ray vision.  (I wish).  What we are talking about today is biometric, not bionic.  And XID is taking us a huge leap forward in this area with their facial recognition software, Face LogOn XPress.   They still can’t promise flying cars, but this a pretty cool look at the future, nonetheless.

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There it was.  At last!  Writ large upon the outer wrapping of the new Sony NWZ-A828K Digital Media Player (which most of you will know as a Walkman).  There were the words I have longed to hear from a media player for so many years.  The box read:

WIRELESS.

Enjoy music wirelessly with the supplied Bluetooth stereo headset.

Yes, that is right folks.  This will be my first media player review without the patented Bluetooth rant.  And really, having found a media player with Bluetooth, I might as well end the review right here.  Nice job, Sony!  But no, as long as I have the media player, I suppose we should take a closer look and see what else this thing can do…besides transmitting music, “wirelessly with the supplied Bluetooth stereo headset,” that is.

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I still remember when I started seriously playing the guitar.  I was in seventh grade.  At that time, we were given a choice of band, chorus, or guitar.  But you had to pick one.  Well, by then I had already determined that I was done with the clarinet, so I would not be joining the band.  And I had no illusions about my ability to sing  (I was always the kid in my fourth grade concert who stood in the back lip syncing).  So, it was off to guitar for me, and I was pretty excited about it.  I mean, what seventh grader didn’t have visions of Eddie Van Halen dancing in front of his fingers…The second fortuitous event that happened was Dr. Jones, who taught guitar to my seventh (and eighth) grade class.  I only had him for two years, but he really instilled a lasting love of the instrument in me.  I have played the guitar off and on ever since (sometimes much more off than on).  But every time I pick it up again, I wonder why I ever stopped.  It is a great way to relax, and impress your friends.   The problem is that every time I pick it up, I also realize how much I have forgotten.  I have to relearn chords, remember how to tune it, and even think about which string is which.  I can’t afford the time or money involved with private lessons, which means teaching myself from books and sheet music, which can be difficult.  Learning guitar is much easier when you can mimic a more experienced player, and see how their fingers move across the strings.  That is pretty tough to do with a book.  Well, now there is another way…and potentially a better way, ivideosongs.com.  This new website offers your own private lessons of your favorite songs, right there on your computer screen.  Let’s take a closer look.

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[Note: This is the second of two articles relating to to the Adobe PhotoShop Elements 6/Premiere Elements 4 Bundle.  Click here to see my review of Adobe Photoshop Elements 6].

My video camera, a Sony Handycam, is slightly over six years old.  I bought it in anticipation of the birth of my first son.  Oh did I have plans for that camera.  I would take videos, capture them on my computer, edit them, and make amazing home movies of my new baby which I could share with friends and family.  Oh the plans. 

Unfortunately, my plans did not account for two significant factors.  First, babies do not really move for most of the first six months.  Pretty boring videos of Ben lying in one place for hours at a time (though I do wish he would do more of that now).  Second, and probably most importantly, babies take a lot…and I mean a lot…of time and energy.  When you have a newborn, you are really in no position to start learning a new hobby.  So, instead of high quality videos which I could share with friends and family, I ended up with a shoebox filled with six years worth of raw footage which I had never had much time to do anything with.

Time passed.  My second son was born, and then my daughter.  With the birth of my daughter, I decided now would be the perfect time to try this again.  One of the factors in this decision was that I had a chance to play with some video editing software and found that the industry had made considerable progress in the six years I had been away.  These programs were much easier to learn and use than the ones I had tested in 2002. 

So, with that background in mind, I set out to find the perfect video editing package.  This was an endeavor which took almost no time.  Like most multimedia programs for Windows, my search started and ended with Adobe.  Specifically, the consumer level Adobe Premiere Elements 4.  Let’s go ahead and find out what this thing can do.

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Some of you may know that I am sort of the headphones and headset guy around here.  I have reviewed quite a number of both consumer based, as well as, higher end headphones, earphones, headsets, and pretty much anything else that can pump audio and music directly into your brain.  We’ve looked at in-the-ear, out-of-the-ear, over-the-ear, even around-the-ear.  Frankly, I thought I had seen it all…the good, the bad, and even some of the ugly.  Then I came across the Flamingo Music Earphones, a new wired music solution which, frankly, stopped me in my tracks.  Their EarClick system, which allows the earphone to dangle in front of your ear like a musical circus act, was unlike anything I had used before.  I knew I would have to take a closer look and review this one.

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I think every family must have a hobby which all (or at least most) members of the family enjoy.  Such common interests are what tie them together (and gives you something to talk about at family picnics).  For my family, growing up, that common interest was photography.  We all played around with both video and still photos, but the true love was probably still photos.  Back then, we used to devise intricate plans for turning the basement into a darkroom (we never did).

Of course, that love of photography has carried me into the digital world, where I am happy to have a very nice digital darkroom on my laptop.  I have all of the tools I need, and the smell is much nicer than all of those chemicals you used to require.

Sadly, I have not been able to get a fancy DSLR camera, like the one my brother has, but then again, when you are shooting fast-moving children who do not understand the meaning of the words, “sit still,” a point and shoot camera is probably best.  As such, I was extremely intrigued when I read an advertisement for the new line of Nikon Coolpix cameras.  My first digital camera, which my Dad gave me when my oldest son was born, was a 2 megapixel Nikon Coolpix.  I have had other cameras since then, but I have to admit that I was extremely excited to attempts a return to the Coolpix line.  Thankfully, Nikon agreed to loan me the Nikon Coolpix S600, their newly released ten megapixel point and shoot camera with an advertised, fastest power up time of any camera in its class.  A bold statement, which we will be putting to the test, along with all of the features of the new Coolpix from Nikon.  Hit the jump and, please, keep your arms and legs inside the review at all times.

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