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Keith Shaw

Cool Tools

By Keith Shaw

Keith Shaw is Network World's reviews editor. Contact him at kshaw@nww.com.


Cool Tools Video
Watch Keith's weekly product reviews.

RealDVD: Get it while you can
09/30/08
RealNetworks' RealDVD software lets users save their DVDs onto their computer's hard drive.
Sonos, Logitech offer great network music options
09/23/08
Sonos debuts its Multi-Room Music System. Logitech's Squeezebox Boom Network Music System is an all-in-one system that can access lots of music over a home network.
Two travel gadgets that hit the spot
09/17/08
Kensington's iPhone and iPod rechargeable battery pack and Belkin's Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger are both extremely portable.
What was cool at DEMOfall 08?
09/10/08
It's time once again for people on-site here at DEMO and back at work to ask me, "What was cool at DEMOfall?" The show (produced by Network World's events team) took place last week in San Diego and featured 72 companies offering the latest in technology products.
Two "iGadgets" enhance music experience
09/03/08
Griffin Technology's iTrip Universal portable music player FM transmitter is easy to set up and use. Aerielle's i2i Stream is a pair of tiny wireless streaming devices that lets two people share one MP3 player.
Netflix box rocks, but where's the content?
08/27/08
With Roku's Netflix Player you can watch Netflix movies and TV shows through the TV instead of having to wait for DVDs in the mail.
Gadgets get Wi-Fi right (Part 2)
08/19/08
The Dash Express in-car GPS navigation device's Wi-Fi connection is easy to configure, and its Outlook and Web browser plug-in gives you two-way Internet connectivity.
Gadgets get Wi-Fi right (Part 1)
08/12/08
With the Eye-Fi Explore Wi-Fi-enabled SD card you can automatically upload photos from a digital camera and have the photos go into your PC via your wireless LAN.
New Das Keyboards let you type faster; Outi earphones are worn outside the ears
08/05/08
New Das Keyboards let you type faster; Outi earphones are worn outside the ears so you avoid the "What?" response when someone talks to you.
Three quick gadget hitters
07/30/08
Griffin Technology's PowerDock lets you simultaneously charge iPods and iPhones; Macally Peripherals' FlexTune combination iPod charging/speaker system lets you extend the speakers out horizontally from the base; and DXG USA's DXG-567V HD high-definition digital video camera lets you shoot quick videos in the palm of your hand without needing a tape camcorder.
Ease of use makes two devices shine
07/23/08
The Pinnacle Video Transfer handheld device allows quick and easy backup of different video sources. Sierra Wireless' easy-to-install Compass 597 tiny USB device offers wireless WAN access to Sprint's Mobile Broadband.
Review: iPhone 3G makes great greater
07/16/08
Apple's iPhone 3G includes a faster wide-area wireless network, Exchange support and built-in GPS.
Sprint's Instinct: It's iPhone-ish!
07/10/08
Sprint's Instinct smartphone has some features that make it stand out against the iPhone, but not enough to surpass it.
IdeaPad's cool idea - facial login
06/30/08
One of the latest ultra-portable notebooks from Lenovo, the IdeaPad aims to be more stylish and lightweight than your typical corporate notebook. Features include an Intel Core 2 Duo L7500 processor (1.6 GHz), an 11.1-inch display with an integrated Webcam, 2GB of memory, a 120GB hard drive and built-in 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi. All of this in a very light and compact 2.4-lb. package.
Mini mobile devices impress
06/24/08
Motion Computing's C5 tablet computer for healthcare has a built-in handle and a built-in camera. HTC's Shift ultraportable computer has built-in 802.11b/g/ wireless LAN connectivity, and let's you quickly access e-mail and get quick updates without booting up.
BlackArmor protects data; KR2 makes data mobile
06/18/08
It's hard to see a more secure way of protecting data on a portable storage device than with Seagate's Maxtor BlackArmor USB portable hard drive. And Kyocera Wireless' KR2 Mobile Router is great for groups of people who need quick access to a network in areas where either Wi-Fi doesn't exist or who want to share a wireless WAN connection.
Can you stop the iPhone now, IT?
06/11/08
One of my initial thoughts after hearing about the iPhone 3G was, "Hmmm, I wonder how the enterprise is going to keep this device out of the office." Last year, the checklist of reasons why IT shouldn’t support it was pretty long, but Apple appears to have seen the lists and solved lots of these items.
Pulse: The digital pen gets even smarter
06/04/08
Livescribe's Pulse Smartpen has features, such as a digital audio recorder, that make it more interesting than similar devices.
A Pearl with GPS; a drive does automatic backup
05/28/08
BlackBerry Pearl line adds model with built-in GPS; Storage Appliance Corp.'s Clickfree hard drive does automatic backup.
Panasonic digital camera comes with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity
05/21/08
Panasonic's Lumix DMC-TZ50 digital camera has Wi-Fi built in, so you can upload photos directly to Google's Picasa photo-sharing service instead of having to connect to a PC.
More GPS tracking adventures
05/14/08
Last month I wrote about the GPS Snitch, a portable device you can carry around or place in a vehicle then track through the Web via its GPS and cellular connectivity. Here are two more services and devices that do similar things.
Verizon broadband smart phone aims for iPhone market, with extras
05/08/08
Verizon Wireless' XV6900 broadband smart phone aims to be iPhone-like with its graphical interface, but with additional features that the iPhone doesn’t have and that try to appeal to business users and enterprises.
Should you pass on iPass?
05/02/08
Over the past month, I've been testing a service from iPass that aggregates Wi-Fi hot spot services from a number of providers, offering users Internet connectivity from several locations without having to shell out for expensive day passes or subscribe to multiple services. In addition, the iPassConnect Mobility service offers the addition of a wide-area CDMA EV-DO card for network access in places where Wi-Fi hot spots are not available.
Have good penmanship? You'll like this digital pen
04/22/08
The Mobile Digital Scribe, unlike previous attempts at digital pens, is the same size as a normal pen, uses standard ink refills, can record writing on any size paper, and lets you write notes without being attached to a PC.
BlackBerry Pearl comes with Wi-Fi connectivity
04/16/08
RIM's BlackBerry Pearl 8120 has strong messaging features, multimedia and especially Wi-Fi, but enterprises and those looking for stronger multimedia features should look elsewhere.

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