ELM Bulletin - June 30, 2009
Summertime Fun Toys
Ah, ‘tis summer and the living is easy…or you might at least have more fun after reading this email. Many gadgets are available to make your summer relaxation more enjoyable, in this month’s ELM Bulletin I will discuss some of the tech-toys that help you get the most out of summer.
MP3 Player – Everyone these days has or wants an MP3 player. What could be more fun than soaking up the sun with your favourite music playing in the background, a book in your lap and a cool Iced Tea in your hand? Apple’s iPod has had a lot of attention but many equally attractive MP3 players are available. One of the best MP3 player review sites is anythingbutipod.com (its real name! - click here to visit the website). As the name suggests, iPods are not covered, but a great many other MP3 players and accessories are. Best of all, the reviewer places playback quality as a higher priority than “cool factor” so you know that a recommended player is also going to sound good.
Camera – Music is a tremendous gift, but as a photographer I’m rarely without a camera nearby. There is a fantastic variety of cameras available. So many that it’s hard to decide which one is best suited to your requirements. Camera review sites are perfect for narrowing this large number down to one mere mortals can deal with. My favourite website for camera reviews is the Digital Camera Resource Page (click here to visit the website). A good alternative is Steve’s Digicams (click here to visit the website). Both sites place higher priority on photographic quality than they do on bells-and-whistles, only cameras that actually take acceptable photos earn the higher recommendations. (Believe it or not, not all camera review sites have the same priority.)
Netbook – Even while on vacation, some of us don’t mind staying in touch with those back home. But who wants to spend all their vacation time on the ‘phone or being dragged down lugging a computer around? If you’re someone who wants to send vacation emails to your friends and family back home a Netbook might be perfect for you. Scarcely the size of a hard cover book, Netbooks offer a reasonable amount of power and are easily stashed in luggage or a carry-on. A good place to research Netbook options is the PC World website (click here to visit the website). A great advantage of taking even a small computer along is that you can backup your toys while you’re on vacation. That way, if your camera or MP3 player are lost you still have copies of all your photos and music.
Accessories – Of course, if you’re going enhance your summer relaxation with electronic toys you will do well to consider these optional extras:
Waterproof storage – If you’re like me you’ll be taking your camera with you on the water as well as on land. Since I don’t have an underwater camera I use an all weather camera bag, LowePro’s Nova 4 all weather bag (click here to visit the website). I’ve used this bag to protect my camera on anything from a kayak on the Saguenay River to a walk behind Niagara Falls. However, when I’m on the water at the cottage I might also us a dry box, which can be found at most fishing or hardware stores. One advantage of a dry box is that if it falls overboard it will not only keep your gadgets dry but it also floats! One disadvantage of a dry box is its lack of padding, all abuse experienced by the dry box will also be experienced by its contents.
Auxiliary Power – Sometimes you’re in a place where there’s no electricity, how do you keep your toys running? Most hardware stores carry power inverters which can be connected to your vehicle’s power system to provide standard houshold current. A 400W unit can cost less than $150.00 and can power anything up to a desktop computer.
Backup – Taking a camera along can be a lot of fun but sometimes not fun things can happen to it. I very strongly recommend bring along some kind of backup so that your photos are not lost when these not fun things happen. I carry Epson’s P-3000 Multimedia Photo Viewer (click here to visit the website) with me wherever I go. Not only can this device accept Compact Flash and SD memory media but it also serves as an MP3 player. With a very high quality 4 inch display the P-3000 is also a much better option for reviewing your photos and videos than the LCD panel on your camera.. Epson’s Photo Viewers are available in 40Gb, 80Gb and 160Gb variants and can be bought at camera stores such as Henry’s.
Well, that’s all for this month, later this week I’ll be headed for the cottage with my family, some friends and all our electronic toys. Should be a lot of fun! I hope you enjoy your summer and I’ll see you in the next issue of the ELM Bulletin, hopefully in mid-July.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this or any other issue.
Past issues of the ELM Bulletin are available from our website, feel free to forward them to anyone you wish.
You have received this ELM Bulletin either by request or because you have given your contact information to an ELM employee. If you no longer wish to receive the ELM Bulletin, send us an email with "Remove Me" in the subject line and we will remove your email address from our distribution list.
Peter Rhebergen Telephone |
Websites & Publications Product Websites |
