First camera with built-in projector – Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj

It’s never been our intention to cover every new digital camera or every small advancement or gadget in digital photography, but since a projector built into a camera is something radically new – and a world-first – we think that the Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj deserves its place on this blog. It allows you to take pictures or shoot videos during any event and show them to the participants before they’ve even left.

Free Backup Solution – The Software Is Already On Your PC

Have you backed up your PC lately? No? Do you hear that strange sound coming from your hard disk? Maybe it’s too late already! Just kidding, but it’s very unwise not to make regular backups, and there’s no reason not to do so. There’s a free backup solution in the shape of the XCOPY command that’s part of every Windows installation and can be automated.

Secure USB Memory Stick – Personal Pocket Safe

The amount of data that you can store on today’s USB flash drives is really impressive. The downside is that ever more sensitive data is stored in those memory devices and they’re so tiny that they’re easily lost or forgotten. This can lead to sometimes funny or juicy, sometimes embarrassing or outright dangerous, loss and leakage of all kinds of information – from celebrity private pictures to secret company or government data. Fortunately, the new generation of USB memory sticks offers some optional security mechanisms to avoid future embarrassment.

Thermapak Cooling Pad Keeps Your Legs Cool Without Draining Your Laptop’s Battery

Everyone who owns a laptop knows the unpleasant sensation of having your legs fried when working with the computer on your lap for an extended period. I’ve been considering several cooling devices to place between my lap and the laptop, but I’ve always considered it to be a disadvantage that they need batteries or the use of a USB port to power their fans, thereby seriously reducing your working time. They’re also not very portable – you’d dread taking them with you on a flight. The ThermaPAK HeatShift Laptop Cooling Pad deals with these issues, using physics instead of electricity to keep your lap cool.

Avoid Identity Theft, Shred CDs and DVDs Too

Identity theft is a hot topic now that thieves are even searching junkyards to recover hard disk drives from old PCs or other data carriers that have been dumped there. There’s a lot of invaluable information to be found on those, giving insight not just into your passwords but also into other personal information that you wouldn’t want to share with others. Since you can never be 100% certain that erased data is really erased beyond recovery, the best way to make sure your data remains private is to shred the data carriers just like you shred a piece of paper.

Livescribe Pulse Smartpen Review – Link Your Notes With Your Audio Recording

- A six month test.

The Livescribe Pulse smartpen is one of the most innovative products I’ve seen in years. The pen allows you to write on paper, but when you dock it into its USB charger, your notes are automatically transferred to your PC/Mac. But the best part is that it also records the audio during your meetings or classes. You would imagine that you could then also play back the audio on your PC – and indeed you can. But even better, when you tap your handwritten notes with the smartpen itself, it even plays back exactly that part of the meeting through the built-in speaker! It’s a great invention for college students and professionals alike for note taking and to record meetings, classes and courses.

ShowMyPC – Give Your Relatives Remote PC Support, No Need for Technical Knowledge

It’s great that older people are also embracing the possibilities of the Internet and multimedia, but less so when they regularly ask you when you’re in the neighborhood and if you can spend a few hours to help them with some issues with their equipment or software. ShowMyPC is a free remote support software that allows you to take over their computer remotely, even when it’s behind a (wireless) home router. And you don’t need to have a degree in computer science to get it up and running.

Cell Boosters Add a Few Bars to Your Indoor Cell Phone Signal

Cellular phones have become so common that nowadays many people even give up their landline. Everyone calls you on your cell phone anyhow, so what’s the point of keeping a home phone? But then you relocate or change operator, and suddenly your indoor cell phone reception is no longer good enough to make reliable phone calls. The result is often frustration due to missed or dropped phone calls. A few consumer-grade signal boosters are around now that promise to help you out with this – we take a look at the Wi-Ex zBoost and the Cell Ranger Port.

NoHands Mouse – Footmouse Prevents Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and RSI

Long before “Blackberry thumbs”, carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive strain injuries (RSI) were already well known. RSI is a typical problem of computer workers, characterized by a vicious pain in the hands and fingers. It’s caused by continuous work on a computer keyboard and computer mouse, among other things. A doctor might suggest taking a break from work for a while or doing other things, but not everyone has the luxury to be able to decide what to do and when to do it. The NoHands Mouse from Hunter Digital might be your ergonomic savior.

Videotape your Journey as Proof in Case of a Traffic Accident

Even when you have a minor car accident and you’re confident that it’s the other person’s fault, it can happen that your insurance rejects the claim. Even if you’re well insured, this can occur in situations where it’s your word against the other’s and there are no witnesses who can back your version of the events that led to the accident. With the current costs of labor and spare parts, even the smallest of collisions can set you back $500 or more. A few new products are around that make sure you always have a friendly “witness” on the road with you, by videotaping your car journey to prove you’re telling the truth and that it’s the other guy’s fault. We take a closer look at three products in different price categories: the CarCam Voyager, the Rearview Mirror Car Camera Recorder, and the T-eye In-Car Driving Recording System. The recorded evidence may make your average car accident attorney quite happy.