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Gadget Archive
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The gadget page describes the origins of this hobby and there are some stories in the gadgets category of the blog about gadgets. This page is an archive of things posted between roughly 1997 and 2002. I removed the links because many of them no longer are valid. Just use your favorite search engine if you want to find information about anything on the page. If you use Opera, you can just highlight a word and right click on it.
The
Garmin
Street Pilot has been a great GPS device but I decided to experiment
with the Magellan products.
The SporTrak
Color has excellent tracking and accuracy, showing your position
to within 3 meters, even in difficult environments such as cities or
mountains. It has a 10 MB North American mapping database built in.
The main attraction to me was the high contrast, full color 240 x 160
pixel display. An additional 22 MB of memory enables an expansion of
mapping capabilities by uploading detailed maps from an optional Magellan
MapSend® CD. The SporTrak Color also has a built-in barometer and a 3-axis compass. It also is
waterproof and rugged.The SporTrak can store up to 20 routes, 500 waypoints
and 2,000 track-points. At a mere 6.8 oz. the SporTrak Color is compact
and lightweight enough to slip into your pocket. It also fits nicely
on motorcycle handlebars with the bracket which is available. The best
part is the battery life. The StreetPilot uses six AA batteries and
lasts about an hour or two at the most. The SporTrak uses just two AA
batteries and goes for up to 14 hours of continuous use. This should
be a very good device for hiking.
 On an August 2002 trip to Alaska
I acquired one of the Ulu Factory's
Legendary Knife of the Arctic. The ULU knife (pronounced ooloo)
is the most renowned knife in Alaska. Native people of northern Alaska
invented this knife centuries ago. It is used for hunting, fishing,
skinning, filleting and every other imaginable domestic cutting need
by the Inuit (Eskimo) people.
Christmas
2001 brought me a new favorite gadget -- the SiPix
Pocket Printer A6. The printer is only 4" x 6"
by 1" including the roll of paper inside. It is compact
and lightweight and runs on four AAA batteries. It uses Infrared
for communication (also has a USB connection) and can print
easily from my Kyocera SmartPhone or my ThinkPad.
It wasn't
that long ago that I said that PDAs and Cell phones would not
converge in a very practical way for a long time. Kyocera proved
me wrong. The SmartPhone
6035 is a really nice device. It is a bit big for a cell
phone and a bit small for a Palm Pilot but given that it includes
both it is a resonable compromise. They did a really good job
of integration. You can look up a name on the "Palm",
touch it, and the phone dials the number. Really well done.
It also has a speaker phone built in. I really like it.
I love to wear the Oakley
Shoetwo? Maybe a stretch to put shoes in the gadgets section but
you have to admit that they are different. I wear them to work and
often wear them when riding motorcycles.
I like really like the design -- raised outsole which attaches directly
to the shoe upper.  This
protects the midsole with a vulcanized membrane while expanding
surface area for traction. Moisture transport and shock absorption
maintain comfort. The vulcanized outsole is rendered directly from
3D digital master. The company has introduced the Shoe2.1 which I will add to my wish list.
Normally I
wouldn't think of a hat as a gadget but the Nike Cool crown (fond aéré) definitely qualifies
in my book. I have been looking for the ultimate running hat for
years. I have finally found it. This Nike cap has a built in cooling
system. The Dri-FIT terry sweatband absorbs moisture, then the hydrophillic
material pulls the moisture onto the entire cap and bill surface.
As the air passes in and around the cap,moisture evaporates and
the sweat-band feels dry. Unfortunately, I can't find a link to
this neat product anywhere..
The Nikon Super Coolscan® 2000
features great color accuracy and can even remove surface imperfections
from your scans. I use it to scan 35mm slides with the goal of eventually
creating a digital library of family history going back to the late
1940's when my father first start taking 35mm pictures. The average
scan takes 20 seconds at 2700 dpi optical resolution and there is
an Auto slide feeder that allows unattended batch scanning of up
to 50 slides at a time. I wrote a Reflection about the old media wearing out
that you may want to read.
The Garmin GPS 40 Global Positioning System receiver was one of
the first gadgets in this section. It has been a great sidekick
for me on my travels for the past couple of years. Most of the entries
in the "Where I have been lately"
section of my Web site were captured with the GPS40. An IBMer in
our microelectronics division is very much into GPS and when he
showed me his new GPS III
the urge began. I looked all over the Web to find the best deal
and had a few false starts. Then I ran into the nice folks at Safe Trac. They rushed
me the new receiver and it caught up to me at the Portland
Regency Hotel in Portland, Maine
where I was just starting a short vacation . The next several days of traveling around Maine
gave me the opportunity to learn all the features and functions
of the GPS III. It is an amazing little device. The difference in
speed vs. the GPS40 is impressive. The display and user customization
are more than I expected.
The Garmin GPS 40 was a great device. The GPS III
was even better. Unfortunately, during an April 1999 train ride
from Brussels to Luxembourg my GPS III was stolen. That is the bad
news. The good news is that I replaced it with a GPS III Plus . I now have it mounted on the Harley-Davidson Sportster
1200. My latest is the Garmin
Color Street Pilot. What a dream. It works great on the other
motorcycle but also easily transfers to my car.
The other day I stopped into the
local Mobil Gas station where I live and saw they had something
new called Speedpass . It works like E-ZPass and
other transponder based toll systems. I immediately knew it was
something I must have. I took the literature home which contained
a form to mail or an 800# to call but I thought instead I would
give http://www.mobil.com a
try. Sure enough I found a path to Speedpass. A very simple SSL
enabled secure form was waiting for me and less than ten days later
I had the transponders in hand. I installed one immediately and
went to the station. Just as advertised I was able to just pull
up to the pump and watch the Red Flying Horse light up. I got out of the car, took the pump nozzle in
hand, filled up and off I drove. No credit card, no fuss. Very cool!
Even the Public Sector is getting cool. With EZPass I
can drive all around the New York area and soon an even much broader
area with no fuss with tolls. I have one on each car and have just
ordered another for my motorcycle. I hear that it will work from
within my motorcycle jacket pocket!
Many people say that the Screwpull
Lever Model by Le Creuset is the Best Corkscrew on the Market. I can't
say for sure but I am so far very impressed. I was pleasantly surprised
when some dear friends presented me with this fine instrument as
a Christmas gift. The Screwpull features a clamp-style hand grip
to hold any bottle steady. You simply swing the lever handle to
insert the Teflon coated spiral into the cork, lift the lever to
extract the cork, and pump up and down again to extract the cork
out of the machine. The Screwpull immediately strikes you as quite
high-tech and appears to be made from the highest quality materials.
The body is Zytel which is the same material found in the Stealth
Aircraft. It features over 30 individual parts and it comes with
a spare Teflon spiral and also a matching foil cutter. The best
part is some fine print I found in the literature that came with
the Screwpull. It says "After between 400/600 bottles, the Teflon
coating on the screw/spiral may gradually wear off - and you will
notice that the Lever Model is a little stiffer to operate. In this
case, please replace the screw with the spare provided, following
the instruction 8". Sounds like it will last a while!
One of my most used gadgets is
the Kodak Digital Science DC210 Zoom Camera. I have to say this is quite an extraordinary
camera. I have been using the DC-50 for the last couple of years but the DC-210 enables me to
capture even better digital pictures with ease. It has a 2X zoom
lens to get close to the action but the most amazing part is the
megapixel technology which provides pictures with vivid colors and
dazzling detail. The camera comes with Picture Easy Software for
downloading, manipulating and sharing images. I believe the DC210
is one of the first point-and-shoot cameras with a true megapixel
CCD, meaning it captures one million (1152 864) pixels per image.
Perhaps the neatest feature of all is the color LCD Display on the
back of the camera. It lets you review and preview your pictures
and also set preferences. It seems to use a lot of battery power
but is well worth it. The DC210 comes with a 4 MB Picture Card,
allowing you to store up to 59 pictures, depending on the format
you choose. All image processing is done within the camera, so you
can see your picture on-screen immediately and begin working with
it in less than ten seconds so there's no need to transfer pictures
using an intermediary software application like the DC-50. You can
actually drag and drop images from your camera right into your software
application. The camera can also talk directly to your IrDA-enabled
ThinkPad via infrared technology. I hear it is slow that way but
haven't tried it yet. The DC210 comes with video out capability
so you can view your digital pictures on TV with ease through a
standard PAL/NTSC interface cable. The built-in flash unit automatically
fires whenever it's needed, and has a red-eye reduction option and
a focus-free lens.
Not my newest gadget, but acquired
recently is the REX PC Companion by Franklin . The REX is definitely my smallest gadget to
date. It has a very good on the fly compression technology which
enables it to store a lot of information. I find it a good companion
to my IBM WorkPad . The REX is read only so I just keep it in my pocket for
quick reference to names, numbers, calendar, etc. I am hoping it
will very soon have sync capability with Lotus Organizer 97 GS which is what I use for my all my personal
productivity data.
Probably my second smallest gadget
is the ICD-50 Voice File IC Recorder by Sony . (The
link I am showing says ICD-30 and the specs are slightly different.
I couldn't find the ICD-50 on the Sony site.) This incredibly dense
set of silicon goodies allows for the recording of up to 99 messages
in each of two files. It weighs just 1.8 ounces. No moving parts.
It can store 8 minutes in SP mode or 16 minutes in LP mode. The
quality in LP mode is crystal clear. Great for dictating idle thoughts
and ideas just as you would with a pen and pad but even when you
don't have a pen and pad. I'm still experimenting with it. I have
often thought it would be neat to have something like this while
running or exercising. I often
get ideas and have no place to jot them down. I can't say all my
gadgets are instantly productive but I find them all exciting (at
least for a while.) I got the ICD-50 at a bargain price from J&R Music World
which is where I buy many of my electronic things.
A gadget that I find hard to be
without is the WorkPad by IBM . I
have to admit it is a pretty powerful mobile productivity tool.
Sleek at just 4.7" tall, 3.2" wide and weighing only 6-ounces the
WorkPad PC companion gives me instant access and update capability
for my address book, calendar, call list and to do list. Data backup
and synchronization is pretty simple. You just slip the WorkPad
PC companion into its synchronization cradle, push the HotSync button
data is quickly exchanged with my PC.
A gadget that is great to go running with is the Shockwave SL-SW202 Portable CD Player by Panasonic . (The link
I am showing says SL-SW205 and the specs are slightly different.
I couldn't find the SL-SW205 on the Panasonic site.) The neat thing
about the shockwave technology is that it can deliver outstanding
audio quality in the toughest outdoor
conditions. You literally can shake it and not notice a skip. It
is also water resistant for running in the rain thanks to a rubber
seal along the edges of the lid. Panasonic's Anti-Shock Memory works
by spinning the CD at a higher speed than normal, enabling it to
store extra sound data in memory. When a bang or vibration causes
a tracking error, the system plays back up to 3 seconds of music
from memory until correct tracking resumes. This means the stream
of data you hear is not interrupted, so you get high-quality sound
with virtually no skipping. A Dual Lock System keeps the lid firmly
closed even under the toughest conditions.
A gadget I enjoy every weekend
is the freeSound RS6 Wireless Headphone System by Sennheiser
. These headphones are great for walking around the house or working
at my computer while listening to great classical
music. I am wearing them
right now. The transmitter and receiver operate at your choice of
either 925.4, 926.15, or 926.5 MHz. In Germany, where the headphone
system is manufactured, the frequencies are 433.4, 434.13, and 434.50
MHz. So much for global standards! The specs say the range is approximately
300 feet. I wore them outside and walked to the end of my 375 foot
driveway and they were still playing with perfect fidelity! Modulation
is FM stereo and Signal-to-noise ratio is 73dB. The headphone battery
is rechargeable right from the transmitter base. The headphones
have automatic on/off. They weigh just 160 grams (just under 6 ounces
by my calculations). Sennheiser claims to have a RS8 model which additionally has noise cancellation with
a SNR of 110dB. Unfortunately, they are not available anywhere that
I could find. I am very pleased with the RS6.
A gadget I wear every day is the Data Link Model 150 Watch by Timex . It has a memory
capacity of up to 150 entries which can include phone numbers, calendar
reminders, etc. I use it to store my frequent flyer numbers. It displays a 31-character scrolling.
To get the data into the watch you just hold your hand near the
display of your PC and a photo eye reads bar codes from the screen.
It can also download the latest time, alarms, chime tones, etc.
I get the latest time on the PC to be accurate by using the Atomic Clock . In spite of all this function the Data Link
watch claims a three year battery life!
A recent addition to my gadget
collection is the Motorola TalkAbout Two-way Radio
. I got two of them (the cobalt blue model) on the fourth of July.
They use the new Family Radio Service (FRS) designated frequencies.
This is a new license-free, short range, two-way radio service which
was established specifically for family and individual recreational
use. The range is supposed to be "up to two miles". So far the best
I have achieved is about one mile. I am anxious to try them out
on the Lake during my summer vacation and see if I can get more range
across the water. The TalkAbout has 14 channels between 462.5675
and 467.7125 MHz. There are 38 "Interference Eliminator Codes" available
for each channel. The codes range from 67 to 250 Hz. The channels
are 250 Hz apart and the 38 codes divide that space roughly equally
in 3-4 Hz chunks. The net of all this is that you really get 532
channels (14 x 38). I guess they describe it as channels and codes
just to make it simpler to use. You just select one of the 14 channels
and then choose a code. I have been using mine on channel 4, code
18. Reminds me of CB radio
which I used back in the 70's .
I don't know how I ever got along
with out the DeLorme Earthmate . It connects to my ThinkPad 600 and allows me to see exactly
where I am when driving. The only problem is to be very careful
and not be watching the ThinkPad instead of the road! I have quite
a few GPS and Mapping references in the GPS - Mapping - Ham Radio
section of my Favorite Places .
Garmin GPS 40 Global Positioning System receiver. It is a small
hand held receiver and I carry it in my briefcase wherever I go.
When I get somewhere I haven't been before I take the latitude/longitude
from the GPS40 and put them in my Web site (Domino , of course) in my ThinkPad. You can see this in the "Where I have been lately" section of my Web site. The other thing I do with the GPS co-ordinates
is send e-mail to my staff and friends and include a link to a Map
of exactly where I am. Essential or even needed a little: no. Fun
to do and talk about: yes. I guess you could say that about all
my gadgets
One of my newest technology acquisitions
(gadgets) is the Polar Accurex Plus Heart Rate Monitor . I have some commentary on it
in the Races section of my Web site. It is linked from Running, which is one of my other hobbies. I upload the heart rate
information from the Polar Accurex and then I can display various
graphs and comparative information.
There are so many other gadgets
I enjoy so much.... StarTAC, Pilot, CDPD modem, Connectix camera,
DC-50 Camera, Lifeform software (I think of it as Quicken for the
body), Atomic Clock (dials Government time server and adjusts your
PC clock), and of course Kona (Lotus components), Domino , some experimental software from IBM Research that makes
my right mouse button a scroll bar for Web pages, and the list goes
on but I guess my all time favorite, most used gadget is my electric
lighted peppermill. I happen to like pepper on food so it has a
practical application but I think what I like most about it is that
every time I use it, it makes my wife or kids or guests laugh and
that makes me laugh. I always say, "I don't know why everybody doesn't
have one of these".
Footnote as of Christmas 1997: I never thought
my lighted peppermill could be replaced but my family surprised
me this year with "The Pepper Ball".
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