Upgrade your life
Recently at work I had a revelation: no, I didn’t find a likeness of the Blessed Mother in my screensaver (although i did find a likeness of a naked Paris Hilton in a co-worker’s IE cache, but I’m sure that was an accident). This revelation had to do with a more everyday occurance.
I was sitting at my desk - trying to coax out an extinct piece of hardware from within the depths of an old tablet with nothing but a broken chopstick, half a pair of scissors and my rudimentary understanding of physics and geometry. As I stopped to take a break and curse the fellow who ever thought using obscure (European even) parts was a swell idea - it occured to me that I was taking part in evolution. Not the spectacular kind, mind you - more like the common ‘natural selection’ part. As in - I will not select this manufacturer… again….ever.
Which leads me to my short & sweet topic this week. Stuff you should want, stuff that if you ever tried it…you wouldn’t let go because it makes life better. And that’s the whole point of life right? Make stuff better. Or so the (ie: my) theory goes…Without further ado - stuff you’re going to buy because if you don’t you’ll end up with a PC equivalent of the Dodo Bird. Note: I am not reviewing these products, others with better ratings systems and a stronger grasp of the english language have done so already. I’m just letting you know “they’re out there”, waiting for you.
“Look into my eyes…you want to buy me……waaant to buy meee…” - Microsoft Sidewinder Strategic Commander
1 - Your new mouse: Logitech® G7 Laser Cordless Mouse - Anyone who uses a computer knows a mouse is possibly your most useful tool aside from the things that sprout off your hands in pairs of 5. So why do so many people stick by the old mouse they got with their Amiga 1800 back in the day? Because people just love cleaning mouse balls. No wait - its because a lot of people haven’t tried anything that made them realize how GOOD it can get. The difference in switching from rollerball to optical is amazing, and taking it to the next level with a Logitech is just what it takes to make someone actually say ‘I love my mouse.”
2 - Your new glasses: VirtualFX 3D TV Converter - Your video card is 3D, your glasses should be too. You think its a gimmick? Absolutely not. Try em, remember the first time you put on a pair of plastic 3D glasses when you went to see “Treasure of the Three Crowns” or “Jaws 3D”? You get to experience it again…only these dont make you look like a complete dork.
3 - Your Best Friend for Programming and Gaming: Just find one and buy it. Seriously, this simple to setup/operate tool can program as many keystrokes and homemade macros as you can dream of and works with just about every program from Flash MX to World of Warcraft. Just make sure to get some sticky pads for the base (she slides around a bit in the heat of things).
THE BEST OF THE REST:
Cool Runnings: USB Cooling Desk Fan - because even the best sweat sometimes.
Backup is a man’s best friend: I’ve never been happier then when I knew I had 200 gigs of space left AFER I back up my rig. Automation at its simplest, sturdy construction and both firewire & usb 2.0 transfer options.
Organizedness is next to Godliness: You can put your cd’s in it! And it can be programmed to catalog the titles for quick access. Much cheaper than the professional “CD Jukeboxes”.
Next week - even more pictures!