Apple now fully supports Bluetooth on its line of notebooks and desktops and with Bluetooth integration in Mac OS X, we have seen a load of peripherals that use Bluetooth as an alternative connection to your computer. For years, USB held the crown for mice and keyboards but now Bluetooth is the “in” standard for your connectivity. I have an Apple Wireless Mouse and it works well, in fact I see no difference in performance between that and my wired Apple Mouse except for the fact it is a lot heavier. Of course the options are low if you want a three button BT mouse and only a few companies are supporting Bluetooth and only a third of those work with Mac OS. A Bluetooth mouse that works well and is ultra compact is the BT 500 mouse from Radtech. The Mouse is only 89 millimeters in length but even with large hands it works fine and is comfortable. Of course, you can let your hand rest on the Apple mouse but Radtech did a good job on design with this product.

Monster, the makers of the finest Audio, Video and Data cable today, has made an awesome new line of products for the iPod. One of which is the iCarplay Wireless. Basically, it is a cigarette lighter plug with the iPod's Dock Connecter on the other end with a little box in between. But, this simple device does something truly amazing and in the best way I have seen yet. This not only Charges your iPod off of your car battery but at the same time, transmits the audio from your iPod to your car. No need to go searching in your song list to find the right station and make your songs get pushed down the list by a bunch of station numbers which are complicated to work with. All you do is on the little box is press one button to scroll thru 88.1 FM all the way down to 89.7 FM. I found that every station worked.

There are only a few microphones for the Macintosh. Of course, all of Apple’s computers have an included microphone except for their PowerMac G5 but the built-in mic is just for Apple to list it in their Tech Specs. To be honest with you, the built-in mic is one of the worst you can get and does not deliver great sound at 1 foot and almost non-existent sound at 20 feet. Macmice has created a microphone, inspired by its SightFlex and iFlex iSight holders, called MicFlex. MicFlex is a flower bud sized microphone at the end of an 18cm flexible cord. The cord has a USB cable running through it and into a dock. The best thing about the MicFlex is its ability to run with or without the base. Notebook users rejoice! Let’s get into specifics.

The Griffin Powerpod is yet another awesome product from Griffin Technology that comes in handy.
The PowerPod is a small lightweight plug that fits into the cigarette lighter of your car which is used as a power source to provide power to the iPod when the Battery is dead while at the same time charging the iPod.

The Contour ShuttleXpress is nothing less than cool. It's software is perfect, the device is comfortable to use. And to think that having it sit on your desk wasn't cool enough, it actually does something. I use it for editing movies in iMovie and to play some games that require the mouse AND the keyboard which can be extreemely annoying. The ShuttleXpress takes care of it all. iTunes must be the coolest thing to use the ShuttleXpress with. I use the center wheel to scroll up and down the playlist and the outer one to control volume. The center button for play/pause and the two outer ones for previous/next track.

Macally's Hub-UF is the first Hub I have seen that not only incorporates the USB and the Firewire into one unit, but, it also features a cool little stand that allows you to stand it vertically or horizontally. It comes with a firewire cord as well as a USB cord to connect the hub to your machine. It is powered by the Bus or it can be also powered by the included power supply which I chose to use. The Hub is very light and I was able to tell that by the fact that the firewire cord included tends to topple over the entire unit, which is no big deal now that I have it mounted on by desk on the side for easy access. The LED's on the front illumiunate to tell you that it is receiving power.

I have reviewed notebook stands in the past but this is the most well designed. It has one of the highest price tags but I would buy nothing less for my Mac. So far my favorite stand was Griffin’s iCurve but it is a simple design and does not allow for adjustment of the height, or support the cables coming out of my ports. That’s right, when you have a new iBook or Powerbook, the cables are on the side and with them just hanging down with no support, it causes stress on the ports. Well Lapvantage has made using my iBook more ergonomic, useable, cooler and better on my peripherals.

Waterfield Designs is one of my favorite case companies. All of their products show symmetry, style and find function / use in each aspect of their designs. The iPod Case from Waterfield did not fall far from the tree, but it seems like the fall may have taken some of the Waterfield out of the case. Let me elaborate. The checkerboard look is of less quality than their other cases, there are a few non-symmetrical imperfections that have use but don’t look well and the Velcro used can start to give out after just a few months of using the case. There are good points. One is a slightly open top area to make using any size headphones plug and remote easy. There is also a really open front window after lifting the flap that allows for you to see the entire iPod face. When using other cases you may have to slide the iPod around to get the iPod to match with the plastic buttons or screen window.

Finally a bag that was made for me. Not literally, but the iPod Gear Pouch from Waterfield Designs is a bag that holds all of my iPod gear and the rest of my “handheld tech”. The pouch has two compartments with neoprene pockets to hold your iPod, headphones, and other iPod accessories. Of course, most of us just have the iPod and our headphones but true geeks have the iPod and all of its accessories (I will cover those in a moment). Click Comments for the entire review.

The Macally rfkey is an excellent keyboard.
It's white color goes with your iBook or iMac and has an awesome scroll wheel which scrolls up and down and has a neat feel to it. It features Internet browser buttons such as Back, Forward, Reload and Home. The Media Keys are also a cool feature that can be customized for each application. The arrow keys are also located in an interesting place. They are located right below the Numeric Keypad on the wrist rest. I found it to be a cool idea.

The Wacom Graphire3 6x8 was so easy to set up that I had it up and running in 5 minutes. Inkwell worked perfectly with it. I was amazed that the mouse and the Stylus required no batteries. How Wacom pulled that off I have no clue. They included software, Procreate Painter Classic, Adobe Photoshop Elements 1.0, and penPalette LE. However, much to my suprise, only Painter Classic was made for Mac OS X. The other two only worked with Mac OS 9. The Control panel which had the controls in it to work the tablet needed to restart the computer to recognize the tablet. The good thing is that I only had to restart once. After that restart, whenever I plugged in the Tablet, it recognized the device.

One of four new shows to come to Fox this summer is a less acclaimed show, “The Casino”. It is a reality show about two guys that made their money by being owners of Expedia and Travelspace.com when both were acquired by another company. Each person has $105 Million dollars to spend. They want to buy the oldest casino, “The Golden Nugget” or start their own casino. This is their story.

Well, the summer programs on Fox have started and it looks like they don’t have much to offer. The first new show is “North Shore” and after watching just five minutes of it I can’t help but see an effort to copy the hugely successful “The OC” which is Fox’s only moneymaker behind American Idol. North Shore is obviously targeted at a college group that finds The OC for “high school drama queens” but they still don’t have the patience for a typical soap opera.

This is Version two of our iPod super case review. Version one was received very well by our readers, so we thought to do another one. We have added a more cases and know you will enjoy reading this. Let’s Rock!

Click Comments for the review

The Icecad is obviously a very cool drawing tablet. It's small enough for you to carry with you and powerful enough for even the most demanding applications. Inkwell worked flawlessly with the Icecad. But, after the Icecad's Installation, be sure to look for the little but extremely important Applescript in your Applications folder that you must launch only once to get Inkwell to recognize your Icecad. I found that the Icecad worked perfectly with Handwriting Recognition in Microsoft Word, and I also tried Painting with Corel Painter 8 and had alot of fun doing that.

These remotes must be the solution to all of our home entertainment questions.
"Why do I have to use 4 seperate remotes to control all of my Television components?"
Well, your answer is the Harmony series. I tested out the Harmony H-659 and the H-688.
They were both pretty cool devices. Nice designs. And I loved the "Activity Buttons."
Instead of "Power" these remotes featured 3 or more buttons labeled "Watch TV," "Watch Vodeo,"
"Listen to Music," "Watch DVD" and a button labeled "More" which had more activities avaliable than what was given on the remote's face.

Sennheiser has always been known for quality headphones , headsets, microphones and other information systems. Their name pops up every time we inquired about quality headphones. So we finaly got some items to review, as my half of a two part review on this company I am reviewing th PX100 while another yet just as talanted writer is reviewing the PXC250 which is a pimped out version of the PX100. Now these are high quality heaphones they are incredibuly lightweight and compact , only 60 grams without the cable. The ear pads rotate 90 degrees in order to allow the heaphones to be tightly packed using Sennheisers own registered "fold and flip" design which locks the headphones in an open and closed position and snugly fit in the carrying case. The PX100 delivers high quality sound thanks to the "Duofol" magnet system. I was very pleased with this product because of the headphones durabilty and comfort , they are great for outdoor use or for use on the go. To order the PX100 o any other great Sennheiser products please visit http://www.sennheiser.com

Also coming soon is a review on the PXC250 a pimped out version of the PX100 , if you are looking for quality noisecanceling headphones , look for this review.

When it comes to disk burning software, the unofficial crowned leader is Toast Titanium 6 from Roxio. I think this may be due to many factors, but the main reason, is there is not another disk burning software the comes close to it. Roxio did a pretty good job of making Toast an easy to use software and affordable for those who want to do more than just burn a CD from time to time. Up until now, I have not seen a better burner for the Mac. That is, until now. I tried out Dragon Burn 3 from NewTech Info Systems, Inc. and was very impressed. This is Toast with more features, easier to use, and at a price point we can be comfortable with. Even if you only burn Cds or DVDs once a week, the $49 price tag is a great deal for everyone.

Sennheiser is known as a leader in the headphone market. When I inquire about good headphones, their name is recommended. In a two-part review, we are looking at the PXC 250 and the PX 100. They both have different functions entirely. One is for street use and everyday listening and street wear; the other is for long flights or at the office. The two models have different uses but deliver great sound. Read on as we explore the features and usability of two Sennheiser headphones.

The Vialta Vistaframe is clearly a cool idea just by looking at it. I found it couldn't be easier to use. It however was very limited at what it could do. 3 simple transitions, and not the best screen. It tended to flutter every so often. My pictures look wonderful on there. But are a bit grainy even on the 5 megapixel camera. I found this to be odd, but then realized that it was just the screen. It couldn't tilt far at all, but had a great design. Accepts the Compactflash cards, Memorystick, SD, and many other popuular types. Vialta could have imroved this, but, I recmmend it to anyone looking for a cool picture frame and doesn't expect it to be optimal.

Booq is a company that makes some excellent computer bags. Their bags are made for the young and young at heart. They use high quality Ballistic Nylon, Big Pockets, bright colors and their rugged bags can withstand a lot, but of course after the day of mountain biking, rocking climbing, and snowboarding you can be confident that all of your computer gear is still safe. That is what I like about their gear, great looking, useful, and your tech equipment is the number one concern. The BooqPaq3 is an awesome backpack from Booq and it holds all of my gear, in comfort, style, and even has an interchangeable back pouch if you like your back pack to match your socks.

My setup at home is pretty awesome. My main machine may be an iBook G4, but it is the stuff sitting around it that make my machine a dream setup. Two products I could not do without is my iCurve from Griffin Technology and Roadtools PodiumPad. Together they help dissipate heat and bring my computer eye level. My iBook has a built in fan so heat is not really an issue for me, but I like having the computer eye level. The iCurve is still not eye level and the PodiumPad is not even close. I wanted a stand that can put my iBook up eye level and amazingly, still dissipate heat.

I usually get most of my music while at school. Of course I have an iPod and hated having to wait until home to put the songs on my iPod. I carried the iPod cable with the special connector for my 3g iPod to school with me each day just so I can stay up to date. Well not anymore, and the accessories for my old iPod still work fine due to a mini marvel, The PocketDock.

Apple released the iBook G4 a few months bag and just recently updated it. Our friend over at Mike Serieys was nice enough to let us borrow his review of the new machine.

"I had been eagerly awaiting Apple's next line of iBook G4 computers for a week or so before last Monday's announcement. My nine-month old 900 MHz iBook G3 had aged far too quickly, especially with the release of apps I wanted to use like GarageBand. Quite clearly I needed a G4 for such tasks, and the new 1GHz iBook sounded ideal for my needs. What I wasn't expecting was the performance hit I got."

Read More.

In our three-month look at Waterfield Design’s most popular bags, today we are reviewing their largest bags, the Cargo Line. Waterfield Design’s Cargo line consists of different sizes but all have the same function. So far all of the WF bags have done very well and all have unique characteristics, which serve different purposes. The Cargo bags’ best feature is their amazing size. There is a large middle compartment that can hold everything. And there are a few smaller pockets that are still capable of holding a computer or notebook. For the first time, I replaced my backpack and used one bag for holding all of my schoolbooks and computer gear.

With the release of iTunes 4.5, we noticed that not much has been added to the Equalizer, or effects like Sound Enhancer, or Sound Check. This is where Volume Logic steps in to make your music sound amazing. Volume Logic is made by Octiv and really takes music to another level. By monitoring the drive, bass, volume and it’s own settings for different types of music, Volume Logic is the least expensive sound enhancer for the best digital jukebox, iTunes.

April 30th: Someone in the ShoutBox requested that I upload the movie iMade with iMovie 3 and Final Cut Express of me unpacking my iBook G4 back in November. Well, here it is.

Click Here.

A year after Apple released the iTunes Music Store, and iTunes 4, they have added many improvements. With iTunes 4.2 in October 2003 which brought iTunes to Windows, Gift Certificates, and other improvements, and now iTunes 4.5 was released on April 28th, 2004. There are so many new features, it is difficult to go through them all but bear with me as I give you a first hand look of all of the new features and how to use them.

Aneta Genova designs iPod cases for the fashion consious user or those who like to introduce themselves with their style as opposed to a hello. Her designs fit each person very well and have definetly made my christmas list.

Click "Read More" for the Inerview!

Piel Frama the great people that have been bringing you high quality leather gear for years have finally come out with something for the iPod user . The 3G iPod case is truly the Lexus of cases . It is 100% fine leather , it is the top of the line. As most iPod cases, it provides protection from immideae damages .It off course has a clip which keeps your iPod safely attached to , whatever, the clip also free rotates to give you freedom along with security. Now this is some iPod case, it has slits that connect to the iPods connecter/charger unit as well as a slit for your headphones. It also has 3 slots for any regulation size card ( credit card, drivers license , phone card, etc.) so you can carry all your goodies with your iPod. This luxury comes in three designor colors ( all 100% fine leather )

The Griffin PowerWave is full of features that separate it from some of the other USB audio devices on the market. To start with, it includes a 20-watt per-channel amplifier and comes with Prospeaker Breakout Cable, so you can connect standard stereo speakers - not the cheap powered kind hooked up to many Macs - directly to the unit and get wonderful sound. You can also connect Apple's Pro Speakers to the PowerWave, since Griffin uses the same connector on the PowerWave that Apple uses on select iMacs and desktop Macs. (And since the PowerWave is self-powered, any audio device hooked to it -- such as an iPod -- will play through the speakers, even if your Mac is shut down.)

ISkin, makers of the ProTouch PB keyboard protector and the best-selling exo II brings you a new type of iPod case. They have taken suggestions from their loyal customers and added their own pixie dust to the evo. This is sure to make the best selling list like iSkins other products. The new iSkin evo is vastly improved over the exo. It has man new and useful features, such as the new and redesigned revoclip which rotates to give you security and keep you attached to your ipod. It now comes in nine designer colors ranging from green, orange, and purple to black and silver to match any outfit. The evo also comes with many technical goodies such as holes in the back to stop overheating and as all iskin iPod cases the evo protects your ipod from scratches and any other immediate damages, it has new slits to keep out dirt, dust, and liquids that can cause real damage. It also has a port connector so it wont fall off, it secures your dock connector to the charger port. One really cool thing about the evo is that when held up to a light it glows a bright neon color in the dark. The evo is 29.95$ and is well worth the money, it can only be ordered at http ://iskin.com , so get yours now.

By : Matt Jackson

Some notebook users don’t need to carry their power adapter and their entire office with them. Maybe you are just going to the coffee shop or you go to work and have the appropriate items to run your computer waiting for you. So I guess you don’t need to spend 150 dollars on a large bag with tons of pockets. You just want a case that can hold your notebook and keep it safe. I think you need a notebook sleeve. There are many choices, like many other products, but only one I have seen has features no other has. There are other sleeves from Marware and Radtech that just hold your computer with a zipper or buckle. These are great and have their own unique features, but the SleeveCase from WaterField Designs has some things no other bag has.

Road Tools Podium CoolPad (At-Home Use)

The Podium CoolPad is a notebook riser that sits on your desk. It rises your notebook to an ergonomic level and allows for heat dissipation. The other feature that no other stand has it its ability to pivot 360 degrees so you can move it with you or turn it for others to see. The name CoolPad means just that. Apple’s notebooks are blazingly hot and the CoolPad keeps them cool by allowing cool air to flow under the computer via natural convection. This also allows the computer to be closer to eye level so you can view the monitor without looking down thus causing stress on your neck and spine.

I am a notebook owner that carries his everywhere. I have the same problem as most users; oil and dirt from my keyboard get on my iBook screen and dirt gets down in the keys. Radtech came to the rescue. Their Screensavrz are made of their patented Optex and cover the entire keyboard. The material is thin and even washable so it is great for users on the go.
After a few days of using the product, I don't know how I lived without it. It was a little difficult to get used to taking the thing on and off of the keyboard. It just sits over it but still took a little more time to get used to. I did save a lot of time by not having to clean my monitor daily or purchase those expensive compressed air canisters for cleaning the dirt out of the keyboard.
If you use your notebook everywhere and have dirty hands, I suggest checking out the ScreenSaverz and try out one for yourself.