From the category archives:

Technology & Gadget Reviews

Microsoft XBOX Kinect Human Body Game and TV Controller (Review)

I’m a big fan of the futuristic science movie Minority Report which has a famous scene where a character manipulates photos and information on a screen by swooshing their hands around.

Kinect Skeleton Sensing. photo credit: Neerav Bhatt

So I was quite keen to attend the Australian media launch of Microsoft’s XBOX Kinect, a new camera system [...]

2 comments

Future of TV and Watching Video: Audience Shatters Into Million Pieces

When I was a kid in the early 90’s in Australia we had 5 analog free TV channels. These channels had big audiences because there was nothing else to watch except VHS tapes. DVD’s hadn’t been invented yet and home internet access was a few years away.
By the end of 2010 I’ll have 15 free [...]

1 comment

Australia Fetch TV: Broadband Internet Pay TV PVR Hands On and Unboxing (Review)

Many Australians who get broadband internet access through Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Internode and iiNet will be watching Pay TV channels as well as Video on Demand movies and TV shows via their broadband internet connection within the next few months

FetchTV is a content aggregator (buying internet rights to movies, subscription channels like Discovery [...]

3 comments

Samsung Wave S8500 Review: Great Budget Phone or Basic Smartphone

I tested the new Samsung Wave mobile phone for 3 weeks. It feels like a premium phone thanks to the well designed mostly metal case, great screen and multimedia features and yet it is available for an amazing price of $469 outright from online retailer Mobicity or relatively low cost Vodafone cap plans from $29+.

The [...]

6 comments

UPS Surge Protectors with Battery Backup: Belkin F6S600auUSB 600VA and F6S400auUSB 400VA Review

Thanks to 2 Belkin UPS (Uninterruptible power supply) units none of my key electrical equipment got damaged last week when the electrical wiring in part of my home failed.
If you don’t use a UPS then you’re taking the risk that a lightning strike, power surge, electricity brownout or blackout will cause your Computer, modem, [...]

3 comments

Innovative Digital Radios: PURE Sensia KOGAN Deluxe and BUSH Walker (Review)

This review covers 3 digital radios which are innovative for different reasons: PURE Sensia (unique colour touchscreen and apps like Facebook), KOGAN Deluxe (packed with features and stereo sound for less than $200) and BUSH Walker (very small and light portable pocket DAB+ radio).
I’ve been interested in Digital Radio in Australia since it launched [...]

5 comments

ADSL2+ Modems with VOIP: Netcomm NB9WMaXXn vs Billion 7404VNPX (Review)

Buying an ADSL modem is not an easy choice because some modems are best if you live close to the local phone exchange and others are better if you live far away, as well as their prices, features and capabilities varying a lot.
Many Australians have ADSL or ADSL2+ broadband internet access. This requires an ADSL [...]

8 comments

EXCLUSIVE: TiVo Australias CASPA Free Ad-Funded Pay Per View TV and Movies

EXCLUSIVE: Hybrid TV’s chief executive Robbee Minicola said that by late 2010 their CASPA video on demand service will have FREE advertiser funded pay per view TV shows and movies on TiVO Australia PVRs and other devices, in a one-on-one interview with Rambling Thoughts Blog late last week.

Hybrid TV’s Plans To Dominate Australian Video on [...]

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HTC Desire Tips To Enable Extra Features and Video Review

I recently bought a Telstra NEXTG compatible HTC Desire Android smartphone and did a video review of it for online retailer Mobicity. Since I’ve tested a lot of Android phones as a journalist I know how to tweak them to add extra features which aren’t enabled out of the box. I’ve listed the best tweaks [...]

3 comments

Netgear Stora NAS MS2110 Cheap Easy Backup and Home Media Server (Review)

I bought a Netgear Stora MS2110 NAS (Network Attached Storage) device a few months ago for the dual purpose of using it as a cheap easy backup unit with built-in mirror RAID and a home media server to store my digital photos, videos and music so they could be streamed to other networked devices in [...]

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Kobo eInk Ebook Reader Unboxing Video & Size Comparison With Paperback Book and Kindle DX

Video (2 minutes): Kobo eInk Ebook Reader Unboxing & Size Comparison With Paperback Book and Kindle DX
Video Transcript: Earlier today, Borders Australia launched their eInk powered KObo eBook reader and associated eBook store with over 2 million ebooks for sale.
This is a short unboxing video and size comparison with the Kobo eReader versus [...]

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Warning: Do Not Buy Hitachi SimpleTough Portable Storage Drive

I was recently part of a Tourism New Zealand/Canon Video/Photo crew and took along a Hitachi SimpleTough 500gb Portable Storage drive to review and backup my photos as I expected our backpacks would be treated roughly during car/plane/helicopter transfers.

I copied photos from my camera’s SDHC storage cards to the Hitachi SimpleTough Portable Storage Drive as [...]

2 comments

Nikon D90 w/18-200 VR II Lens Mini Review and Tips for Effective Use

I recently tested a Nikon D90 SLR digital camera with 18-200 VR II Lens for a few weeks to compare it against the Canon EOS 500D SLR Digital Camera I’d tested just beforehand. As expected the D90 offers more advanced features, better battery life and more configuration options than the Canon 500D/550D but was also [...]

3 comments

Canon S90 Best Compact Pocket Digital Camera for SLR Owners? (Review)

Canon S90 PowerShot is the best compact digital camera for SLR owners to buy as a backup to their SLR on photo expeditions and to keep in their pocket all the time for spur of the moment photos.

The reviews of the Canon S90 from photographer friends and reputable digital camera review sites were so good [...]

9 comments

Camera Phones Can Take Great Photos Because Theyre Always With You

“The best camera still is – and always will be – the one that’s with you” and for many people this will be a camera phone. This idea was originally put forth by Chase Jarvis, professional photographer and author of “The Best Camera“.
I recently spent a whirlwind week exploring New Zealand’s lower South Island via [...]

6 comments

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