December 30th, 2009 
admin I was lucky enough to get The Saboteur for the Xbox 360 for Christmas. This final game for Pandemic Studios has only just come out and is in a sense underrated. A mix of GTA and Assassins Creed in 1940s Nazi occupied Paris sums up this game in a nutshell. With a good storyline and loads of Nazi buildings to blow up, this game will last for a while
September 4th, 2009 admin 
I’ve had the Kodak Zx1 for just over a month now and with my experience with it, I thought it would be a good idea to write a review on it. This pocket HD camcorder has really been a revelation for me and what quality we can record in nowadays. If you’re interested in what comes with the Kodak Zx1 in the box I’ve done an unboxing video which you can watch here. So does the Zx1 really cover all the bases so you don’t need your Mini DV camcorder anymore?
The form factor for the Zx1 is great. As with all pocket camcorders, the Zx1 is small and fits perfectly in your
pocket, around the size of a mobile phone from a couple of years ago. It is smaller than the Kodak Zi6 and the newer Zi8 and is marketed as rugged and made for rough use as well as weatherproof. It does have a good back grip but with something like this I’d still look after it and not throw it around like a toy. Saying that, the weight is good with the 2 AA batteries installed and it feels sturdy in your hands like you are actually holding a camcorder.
The concept of a pocket camcorder isn’t really to watch it back on the device and that is why the screens are so small. At 5.1
cm diagonal length the screen is small but big enough to actually see what you’re filming. But don’t expect to watch the footage back because it doesn’t really give you a good idea what is in focus. All the ports are safe as they are covered by rubber covers. So this means the DC, AV, HDMI and SD slot. The universal tripod screw is open at the bottom of the device and is a nice extra to help stabilise the image if you need it. What I didn’t realise initially is that there is a small red LED next to the camera lens which turns on when you’re recording. Although these have been around for ages I couldn’t find a setting to turn it off which I thought was a real shame. There is also a very poor speaker at the top of the Zx1 but as I said, you won’t be playing back your videos on the device on the go.
The Zx1 does an excellent job of capturing 720p HD video and I have uploaded several HD sample clips which you can see on my Youtube channel. You can be off and recording in seconds with a quick power up and the simple red button to start/stop recording. Although I haven’t found out an easy way to see how much space is remaining; the clips seem to be very small in size, with around 12mb for a 30 second clip. Now the buttons have been made to be weather resistant but do feel slightly clunky. The worst thing about the Zx1 is it’s clumsy, strange menu and button system. There seems to be no co-herence and logically method so it takes a while to learn what each button does and if you are not technologically minded it may take a while for you to get used to it. However to be honest you only really need the power button and the start/stop recording button. While we are on the bad points let me bring up the microphone. For as great as the HD quality is, the audio is the direct opposite. With a mono small microphone you will be disappointed if you are looking for something to replace your current camcorder. I’ve found if you are far enough away from the audio source it is not too bad, but if you are right in front of the camcorder or behind it then it can be poor if you are used to decent audio. Also from my experience the Zx1 suffers from heavy wind blowing into the mic disturbing your voice so make sure you’re in cover or not facing the wind. In my opinion I will be using this for short clips which I will overlay with music and possible record audio with another source. Unlike the Zi6 and new Zi8, the Zx1 does not have a macro mode and I’ve found it has be at least 1 metre away (roughly) from the subject before it is in focus. Now for a lot of work this will be fine but if you try and video yourself (in a Myspace type shot) then you’ll find you’re probably not in focus which you won’t be able to find out before you get home. So if that is what you want it for then you will be disappointed unless you have really long arms…or a tripod.
The Zx1 captures 720p HD video at 30/60fps in the .mov format, so if you’re using a Mac (minimum requirement an early
Macbook/Mac Mini) then you’ll be able to play them fine and edit with iMovie 08 and iMovie 09 which are the ones I tested. On the other hand if you are a Windows user you have a couple of options. Either use the supplied Kodak simple editor or convert the video file to run in Windows Movie Maker. For me this has been the best bit about the Zx1. My Canon FS100 produced .MOD files and you all know the initial trouble I had with that so I had to convert all the files before editing but now with the Zx1 I can just go straight away. Great! Less wasted time and more productive time!
So the Zx1 has been my first HD camcorder and apart from the obvious point of a camcorder with no image stabilisation, I think the Zx1 does a good job. Sorry the review may be a bit short but all the pocket camcorders share many similarities. I hope you have a look at the sample clips and make your own decisions on what you think. There is very little differences between the competition and the main one with Kodak is the adoption of the SD card allowing you to use up to 32 GB cards. I’m sure within a couple of years these small devices will rival normal camcorders apart from the optical zoom but most likely they’ll make their way into our phones and we’ll have a complete do it all device with us at all times.
July 23rd, 2009 admin 
So I’ve had the Devolo dLan Highspeed II Starter Kit for a couple of weeks now and with my experience, it is time to send my review over to you guys. If you haven’t seen the unboxing go and watch that video then come back and see the review video. Basically I needed a new way to connect my Xbox 360 up to Live as well as something as a backup to keep internet in my room. I could have gone with another wireless bridge, although they are hard to find, but I decided on these growing gadgets that use your homes internal power lines. So here’s the Devolo dLan Highspeed II Starter Kit but has it worked as expected?
Just up front you need to know that (as expected I guess) the box comes with everything you need to get started. 2 Ethernet cables and 2 plugs. There is also a CD but this isn’t necessary to start with and only to configure security on the plug devices. There are minimal instructions and to be honest they are nice and simple which is great considering it’s exactly all you need. Simply plug one dLan into the power socket with an Ethernet cable from it to the source, so in my case the internet router. Then plug in the second dLan into another power socket near your destination device, for me the Xbox 360, and once again hook up the Ethernet cable between these two. That it? Yes, it really is easy. Now admittedly a wireless bridge isn’t rocket science to install and configure, but with the dLan you don’t need to fiddle with all the choosing which wireless access point and all the codes required to get them talking to each other. So with that done the dLan lights started blinking like a Christmas tree at me and hey presto they were talking to each other! I turned on the Xbox just to make sure and within seconds I was connected to Xbox Live. The dLan Highspeed II did exactly what Devolo said on the box and so far the experience was heavenly.
So what about the design and looks of the thing? Well Devolo have gone with a blue design which is reality isn’t as bright as it appears on the box. Other competitors have gone for a more neutral white or grey so this one may stick out in your living room’s colour scheme. However the dLan cool design is only three simple LEDS showing power, device connection and connection to other dLan device. No need for troubleshooting manuals here, it’s very easy to see what’s wrong if your connection goes haywire. Because it is a power plug the dLan is easy to conceal however there is a slight protrusion which can cause problems with tight small power plug holes making the one next to it unavailable. Also, where it is probably used near a lot of electronics, it is hard to have a wall plug on its own so mine had to be used on power extender even though it recommends not to. However with my experience so far it has still worked fine with no drop outs and I haven’t noticed a speed decrease.
So I’ve already mentioned the easy installation but the continued ease of daily use is a big advantage. On that note I have had no problems so far. The box touts it is very GREEN and energy efficient which is a thumbs up nowadays although in my opinion they probably could have saved some more by making the box smaller with only 4 real components inside but that’s just me being pedantic. The great power saving feature is a nice touch, in this eco-friendly world we live in, where the power light goes orange in a sort of standby mode and comes straight back to life when you need it. My experience is with two devices and you can have more than two and they can be just as easily installed in the network but how well that works is questionable. Devolo say: The optimum application is no more than 15 dLAN adapters in a fully loaded HomePlug network. I say: If you’re going to have lots, I recommend purchasing a proper wireless network.
The range is 200m and security features are customisable (but not necessary) via the CD so that seems good. Bear in mind if you have no security set up on it then in theory your neighbour could buy a dLan plug and poach off your connection… I’m not totally sure how the dLan works, apparently it goes through your house power wires but if you have different lines upstairs and downstairs some people have had problems. Although from the Devolo site: Yes -- This is a normal situation, and as long as there is one electricity meter in the house/ building; generally, all the ring mains converge there and the data signal can cross ring mains
Overall my Devolo dLan Highspeed II is coexisting with my wireless network and provided a slightly cheaper different option to get my Xbox back online. There are competitors that have similar products like Belkin and Netgear however Devolo were the cheapest for the better speed when I looked. It can handle up to 85Mbps however to be honest all I’ll be using it for is internet access and I’ll never get better than 5Mbps at the moment but I guess it’s future proof. So it does exactly what it says on the box and works perfectly for what I need it to. So if you need to make a connection, whether it be wired or wireless, check Devolo out!
March 14th, 2009 admin 
This little beauty came from my random box of stuff from Bigpockets.co.uk and as the name suggests it enables USB use anywhere. But what does that actually mean? This nifty little device is meant to allow data transfer on the go removing the need for a computer which would make it easier. However the limitations seem to damage it’s purpose and what seems like a half finished product has made it to the customer.
On first look Belkin have done a good designing job and the silver finish makes it a modern decoration. The control interface is simple and clean and the ports are all in the right place and feel right. There is a battery compartment at the back hiding 3 AAA batteries which adds some weight to the device because even thought it’s built well, without batteries it seems a bit fragile. This leads onto the next question, why would you not have batteries in it? As a portable device batteries are a must but then why would you need a power plug? The big catch with this device is that, as stated on the instructions, certain USB plugs that draw more power than normal will not be compatible with the Belkin USB Anywhere without the AC adapter plugged in. Now if you need to use the AC adapter it will severely limit your ability to transfer files portably as you won’t be able to do it in the middle of a field after taking some photo snaps for instance. On the other hand on a holiday where you will have ample electrical outlets and no need for outside transferring you’ll be alright and will save you taking a laptop/computer with you.
To control what you transfer you have to flick the switch on the left side of the Belkin device and then press the Copy button on the front and bingo you’re off. The whole process has been simplified for quick transferring but does not allow you to select which files are transferred. It’s either the root directory or the whole lot. Now imagine when you need this it will be hard to know if you only want to transfer one file but it’s not in the root directory. It will mean having to copy the full source to the target which can waste space and time. Since the device has no lcd display the only responsive feedback you get on the transferring process is down to two leds. A simple tick tells you when the process is complete and while it is working it but I would never trust it without plugging it into a computer first to check the file is there. Maybe it’s just me being paranoid but with something so highly prone to errors when it does finally say transfer completed I don’t want to delete the original file to see it crashed up somewhere else and I ended up losing it!
Saying that it is a good idea, just not perfected yet. With small lcd displays arriving like on portable photo printers you could easily see what files are on the source drive and which to copy. Then as the extra checking tool after the completed transfer process you could put the target drive into the source usb port and then check via the lcd display if the file actually made it over. Simple but effective and would alleviate all my worries about transferring important files on the go. As a first try I hope Belkin will learn, research and release a potentially better viable option to transferring files between USB devices.
December 23rd, 2008 admin As the end of 2008 approaches I’ve looked back at the years findings. There was definitely some interesting electronics out there but none have affected me more than the iPhone 3G. Albeit only having it for quarter of a year it has changed my whole day to day work. But it’s definitely not perfect and some simple errors on Apple’s part has brought down the product in my eyes and it is a shame these ruined a near perfect product.
I’m going to keep this all on video today as some of what I mention is written up in my full review iPhone 3G 16gb Verdict. After you check that out, I’ve highlighted some new points here on the video so don’t forget to watch it and comment!
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