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Tech toys and gadgets for a tough economy

Entries Tagged as 'Mid Range'

Fuel efficiency gauge improves your mileage by a third! Or does it?

March 5th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Fuel Efficiency Centers recently announced their new Fuel Efficiency Advisor – an intelligent gauge that accurately monitors fuel efficiency, suggesting that “consumers can plan on earning back the cost of their device in 12 short weeks”. That’s a pretty impressive claim, considering that it costs $159. Is it true?
The device (and others like it) can, [...]

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Tags: High tech · Mid Range

The ultimate guide to the geek gift guides

December 11th, 2008 · No Comments

Every gadgeteer has their own idea of the best holiday gifts for geeks. It seems only fitting to wrap up my own series of unusual gift guides with this guide to the geek gift guides (with commentary).
ExtremeTech’s Geek Gift guide 2008 starts their list with the Patriot 64GB USB drive at $170. It’s a bit [...]

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Tags: High tech · Mid Range · Toys

Cost/benefit Analysis: When Technological Features Can Save You Money

November 29th, 2008 · No Comments

In yesterday’s article “One feature to consider before buying that new GPS” about multi-point routing, a reader suggested he’d “throw multi-point routing in there with bluetooth, fm transmitter, and the like” and that this feature only makes sense if you think it sounds cool and have extra cash.
But there’s a huge difference between multi-point routing [...]

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Tags: High tech · Mid Range

One feature to consider before buying that new GPS

November 28th, 2008 · No Comments

If you’ve never heard of multi-point routing, or route optimization, take a moment to read on before you buy that new GPS.
GPS units for your car will be one of the hottest gadgets this season (as they were last season and will be next season). Once you’ve used a car GPS, you will never want [...]

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Tags: High tech · Mid Range

Uninterruptible Power Supplies Vs. Surge Protectors – Which do you need?

November 21st, 2008 · No Comments

You may think that a surge protector is giving you the protection you need, but in many cases you’d be wrong – dead (as in, dead equipment) wrong.
Most people know that electronic equipment should be plugged into a surge protector. A surge protector protect monitors the power line for short but intense voltage spikes – [...]

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Tags: High tech · Mid Range

Who Makes the Greenest Game Console?

November 20th, 2008 · No Comments

Energy consumption is probably not the first thing you consider when shopping for a game console. In fact, it’s probably far down the list. But energy use translates into cost, and you’d be surprised how much a game console can add to your household budget.
All three of the main consoles: the Nintendo Wii, Playstation III [...]

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Tags: High tech · Mid Range · News

The Great Video Game Console Hunt of 2008 Has Begun!

November 11th, 2008 · No Comments

We’re on year 3 of head to head competition between the three ultimate entertainment gadgets – Nintendo’s Wii, Sony’s Playstation 3, and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Will sales keep up even in today’s tough economy? Who knows? But if you really do want a console for the holidays, you should definitely be looking now.
Google Trends (trends.google.com) [...]

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Tags: High tech · Mid Range · Toys

Is there music after Guitar Hero?

November 10th, 2008 · No Comments

Guitar Hero, Rock Band and all the variations of electronic music video games have two things in common: They can make players feel like rock stars, and they don’t teach a lick of music. Ok, maybe the drumming games do a bit, but you certainly can’t compare a Rock Band guitar with a real [...]

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Tags: Low Tech · Mid Range · Toys