It seems like more and more people are leaving the supposed affluence of a wrist watch behind in favor of cell phones and other time telling measures. Some people simply resort to looking at the hanging wall clock. Oh the travesty!
However, I am one such person who has succumbed to freeing my hand of mechanical menace and resorting to my cell phone as the primary keeper of chronology. I used to wear watches, no really I used to wear them about five or six years ago...
Its about time to revisit wrist watches and see how they have changed or not, for that matter; might as well mention a few of them at least.
Atomic watches are becoming more common these days as people yearn for greater accuracy. Why? I will never know. Its not like you will save the world by shaving two seconds off your shoe-lace tying speed. Anyway, the Casio Pathfinder Triple Sensor PAW1200-3V is worthy of being the first to be reviewed. 
As the name suggests, this watch comes with an Altimeter, Barometer, Thermometer, and digital compass. What is even more impressive is the fact that this little thing scans multiple frequencies six times a day to update its time. Now here is the best part, the watch also uses solar power! Not just sunlight, oh no, this watch claims to be able to use any light source to power it up.
That means you can go swimming, find one of those light up fishies, stick this watch near it and it would start juicing up! That, I have to say, is pretty cool.
Okay, so we got the time thing down, and maybe a few other features. Lets take this one step higher. What if your watch could tell you news stores as they happened? What if it could bring up stock quotes at the touch of a button? What if you could find out the weather for a particular area and even check your email from wherever you are?
The days of what ifs are over and we now live in a world that is becoming more about what next! Introducing the Fossil Wrist Net Smart Watch for MSN Direct (FX3001):
Yeah, it can show all that. How does it do that? The same way that the atomic clock receives a signal over an FM frequency that states the current time, MSN Direct utilizes the same concept, however, this sends data over an FM frequency that you have to subscribe for, similar to Dish Network. The beauty of this watch is that it shows a perfect example of what can be achieved when portability and functionality are combined into one versatile unit.
So far, there are watches that are super accurate, can allow you to check stock symbols, news, and email, but how about the watch taking over the cell phone?
Yeah, its about "time" something like that came along and to my surprise, there is actually competition for that sector of the market. The M815 GSM Cell Phone Watch would undoubtedly be one of the best cell phone watches I have seen thus far.
All this talk about watches is great and the showcase of technology is pretty sweet. However, the point of all this ranting about a tiny little device that usually just sits on your arm is that as technology advances, size, it seems, contrary to popular belief, is better smaller.
The bad man notice: Once again, I do not endorse or encourage, nor do I work for any of the companies or products listed. This is a tech blog and I am merely showcasing my opinions. All brands and/or products listed are copyrighted under their respective entities.
Time Travesty
Reign of Terror
As I sit here in my econ summer school classes, I can't help look outside the window to the outside world. I want to be out there but, ironically enough, I have to get through college to make it out there. Since college students are the procrastinatorius awesomeus species of human beings, I wanted to find ways that technology could help us become more unproductive members of society.
Apparently, we are in the age of technology. The Space Age. Nanotechnology is the future, etc...whatever.
I want to have fun, and the new Flytech Dragonfly will let me do just that! Picture this: You're on a huge college campus with lots of open space. Its a bright sunny day and you didn't do so well on your last paper. There is no better way to relieve your stress than to take this baby out for a spin and reign terror from the skies on unsuspecting students! All from the comfort of your dorm room, or the top of a building, whichever you prefer. This little wonder is sure to give you ten minutes of cinema level entertainment. Just make sure no one catches you, or your new havoc reigning toy.
Here is a quick video to show you the possibilities:
At any rate, thats all good and fun, but after 10 minutes, you're bored again. So what do you do?
Simple, you pretend to be James Bond. Now even though this next gadget is somewhat pricey, it is still pretty neat from a technology perspective and is an excellent example of how technology has progressed.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present, the Spy Pen! Looks like an ordinary pen doesn't it? What is so 
special about it you ask? What could possibly make this absolutely ordinary looking pen a spy pen? Again, another simple question.
There is a tiny hole just above the clip that houses a camera. For just over $100, its well worth it. This baby has enough memory to record video and audio for up to 2 hours! Want to miss a lecture? Give this pen to a friend and tell him or her to go to class. You will not only see the professor, you will hear him too! That way, you can continue your reign of terror with your Flytech Dragonfly! Genius!
The bad man notice: I do not endorse the skipping of multiple classes and you can't come crying to me if you fail out of college.
Simplicity
For the past couple of years, I have tried to make my life simpler. Technology has definitely been the way that I have seen to make my life as simple as possible. For example, I scan all my bank statements into the computer so that I don't have to keep track of pieces of paper, there was something about simplicity that was appealing. The question is, how can such simplicity be achieved on a college campus environment?
For starters, a good laptop, as most of you know, is one of the most versatile things you could have with you to simplify your life. However, it's easier to say that you need a laptop than actually getting one. Thus it would only be proper that this week's blog post is about purchasing laptops. The key is to balance features with price and you need to figure out what you need and what you don't. Being realistic will significantly help in the decision making process.
Here are a few features that can blow your mind:
- Processor - AMD or Intel?
- Memory - 512mb, 1GB,
2GB, 4GB? - Screen Size - Bigger or Smaller?
- Hard Drive Capacity - More or Less?
- DVD or BluRay?
- Weight
Without getting too technical with the jargon, let me break these things down.
Processor:
With Vista as the omnipresent operating system, a good processor is vital. Make sure that the processor is a dual core. That means, it has two processors in one and it can do twice the work. However, there is one aspect of the processor that is very important. That is the L2 Cache; this is the amount of data that flows between the processor core and the rest of the components. Make sure that this is at least 1MB or above. A 2GHz processor with 512kb L2 Cache might perform at the same speed as a 1.6Ghz processor with 2MB L2 Cache.
Memory:
Again, since we are talking about Vista being dominant, you will need 2GB of memory to make sure your laptop can multi task just like you do (or try to do, for that matter). However, you do not have to go beyond 2GB unless you edit videos or pictures on a professional level.
Screen Size:
The most preferred screen sizes are 14.1 inches and 15.4 inches. Remember that you will take your laptop with you so, keep that in mind when you check out laptops. Screen size is purely a personal preference and price generally doesn't get affected by it between those two sizes.
Hard Drive:
Anything 80GB or above should be enough. Do not go over 160GB tops because that is also a waste.
DVD Writer or BluRay:
Okay, let me set this in stone once and for all. BluRay is overpriced at the moment. There is absolutely no need to find a laptop with a BluRay player because it is just not economical yet. A DVD Writer will do everything you will need for the life of the laptop.
Weight:
This is a personal favorite. First off, a seven pound laptop weighs a lot. Seven pounds might not seem like much, but lugging your laptop around all over like I do and you will soon hate your laptop. Six pounds and less should be your goal. You'd be surprised how much of a difference one pound makes.
Any other feature is mere fluff and I wouldn't get it if it adds to the price of your laptop. Now that you know what to look for, find some laptop deals at Best Buy or some other electronics store and go check them out. Don't buy blind and your laptop will give you years of dependable service.
Here are some keywords you can throw at the salesman to sound smart:
KB - Kilo Bytes (not to be mistaken with Kb - Kilo bits)
MB - Mega Bytes
GB - Giga Bytes
KB < MB < GB
The bad man notice: All brands and products are respective of their individual owners.
