Every time I see that commercial where the older couple is laying in bed, the one where the wife growls at her husband, “can you turn that down?”, and then he sighs as he pulls out this cheesy looking amplifier device so he can watch TV in peace without turning the sound up any higher, I think man…if he only had a set of wireless headphones. If he did, then he could enjoy his show and she could sleep in peace and not be such a cranky witch. Seriously.

I recently got to test just such a solution, and today I can tell you a bit more about the AblePlanet LINX AUDIO Wireless Infrared Headphones…

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I’m pretty sure that I’ve mentioned this before, but if not then I doubt it will come as a surprise to any of you: I don’t like wearing a headset when using my mobile phone. I’m not sure if it’s because I haven’t yet found one that is so comfortable I can basically forget that I’m wearing it, or if it’s because I secretly think that most headsets look ridiculous. For whatever reason, I have resisted the siren song of the ear roach. But that’s not to say that I don’t appreciate the convenience and safety of handsfree phone use.

I’ve reviewed several Bluetooth speaker devices that were specifically made to use in vehicles, but I can’t recall ever doing one that could also be used in the office. For that, I’ve generally relied upon my mobile’s speakerphone setting, if it had one. The problem is that phones can have vastly different audio capabilities; some you can carry a normal conversation over without TALKING LIKE THIS, and the other person won’t even be wise to the fact that you have them on speaker. On other phones, using the the audible setting will result in an immediate and indignant, “take me off the speakerphone!”

Oh, don’t act like you haven’t had someone say that to you!

The Spracht Aura Mobile BT is a device that says it is the “ultimate option for hands free communication.” Its “dual speaker system” is supposed to provide “crisp, clear audio, loud enough to use in a convertible, trade show, or just about anywhere.” Does it work as promised? Let’s find out…

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Chris Spera called me the other day while I was driving my Alfa. We talked for a little bit, but then I finally had to admit that I was driving a stick shift in traffic, and holding my mobile phone to my left ear was a little bit tricky…since that was the hand I needed for the steering wheel, while my right hand was working the shift.

He, of course, reminded me that they make headsets for that.

I, of course, don’t really like wearing one.

This review will focus on a compromise for people like me, those who don’t particularly like ear roaches, but who know that driving a stick shift with a phone in one hand and a latte in the other (didn’t I mention that?) isn’t the safest way to get from point A to point B.

The product is the Venturi Mini, and what it does is allow you to listen to music from your mobile phone as it streams via Bluetooth over your vehicle’s speaker system (assuming your phone has A2DP), or you can talk hands-free over the Venturi’s speaker system.

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For several months I have needed to take my MacBook Pro in for repair. Some of you may remember the ExpressCard that melted inside my MBP, due to a faulty motherboard. I’ve also noticed an increasing amount of grey pixels on my display, very annoying during normal use, and even more so when editing photos and video.

Finally managed to sever myself from it for a week, dropping it in last Tuesday. Was told it would be ready for pickup this morning, but that I would need to drop it back tomorrow because instead of a new screen, Apple had helpfully sent them a new optical drive!

Very annoying, but the repair centre is only a few minutes by train from my university, so it’s not that bad.

Have to say it is nice to be able to use the ExpressCard slot! Shortly after the slot went mental, the Novatel XU870 HSDPA modem arrived! Took it for a spin this morning, mmm, sweet sweet HSDPA Look how fast it is!

One of my goals is to work more productively when outside the office. I’ve already done away with Microsoft Office and Microsoft Exchange in favor of working “in the clouds” via the suite of Google Apps. The only problem with working in the clouds — is you need clouds (aka an Internet connection). To accomplish this goal I put the Verizon Wireless Broadband Connect service to the test. Keep reading to find out if I got anywhere close to the promised 400k to 2 mb wireless connection speeds - as well as the best place to buy the modem for $ .01.

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When I bought my new car in September 2007 I knew I would be keeping it for a few years, so I decided that I was going to take the plunge, and build a Car PC like those that I had read about on the MP3Car.com forums. The computer would replace the standard audio system, and add MP3 playback, video, GPS, GPS tracking and internet access to my car

After months of dreaming about such a setup my Car PC is finally installed. I’ve had the computer on my desk for over 3 mths now but time and money kinda pushed it WAY forward to this day. Since my dad was off work for the Australia Day holiday, we decided it was time to tackle it.

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When I wrote about meeting with Kensington at CES, I had already been testing their SlimBlade Trackball Mouse for a few weeks. This is the mouse with a trackball that “gives you control even when there’s no room to move a mouse, then switches to mouse mode with the push of a button.” It’s now been well over a month since I started it exclusively with my Toshiba X205, and I am finally ready to share my experience…

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The fine folks at MetaGeek have recently put out version 2.1.2 of the Chanalyzer software for the Wi-Spy USB 2.4 GHz spectrum analyzer. The new version, while maintaining the original functions of the older software, introduces a new topographic view, ability to show all three views on screen at the same time (the old version software only allowed one view) and has a super polished look to it. If you’re a Wi-Spy user like me, I highly recommend upgrading to the new version, which can be downloaded here.

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I get a lot of really cool stuff to review for my day job, so at any one time the Cave (my affectionate nickname for my pint-sized flat) is usually brimming with all sorts of goodies - a kind of digital fun park for the geekily-inclined.

This month I’ve got some especially nifty gear that I thought I’d share with Gear Diary readers - and, time permitting, possibly review as well!

First up, I’ve got the Samsung M8 LCD TV in the living room. Hot diggity dang, this is my favourite HD television so far! Picture quality is smokin’ - in a Jim-Carrey-in-the-movie-Mask kinda way, rather than a Oh-my-God-it’s-on-fire way. I’ve tested TV sizes from 40 to 60 inches, and I’ve decided that 40 is definitely the magic number. The M8 features 3 HDMI 1.3 ports, a gorgeously-glossy piano black casing, and jaw-dropping visuals that make me want to burn an analogue TV effigy in thanks to the HD gods.

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One of the things I have had the dubious pleasure of messing with is tethering my Treo 750 to my MacBook Pro for internet access. I came across a wonderful program that makes this process so easy called USB Modem, which basically makes your device appear as a (you guessed it) USB Modem to your computer, no drivers necessary. Worked great in Windows and in Mac OS X.

My new Samsung SGH-i600 introduced a new feature to me called Bluetooth PAN. What this essentially does it turn it into a Bluetooth router hooked up to a HSDPA modem. Instead of having to mess with dial strings and serial ports you just pair the device to your computer, and connect to the Bluetooth PAN service.

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