In our recent review of MagicJack, Vonage and Skype one commenter asked why we excluded ooma from our comparison. Like those three VoIP services, ooma (yes, the company uses a lower case “o”) allows users ditch their telephone landline and make calls over the internet.
Our reason for the excluding ooma in the previous review? We didn’t have enough first hand experience of the product. Now we do. Here’s our review . . .
There is no doubt: The Blu-ray future is upon us. The humble DVD will soon go the way of the Betamax and VHS tape. Which means now is the time for you to buy a Blu-ray player.
If you own a high definition TV then a Blu-ray player is a must. Looking at a normal DVD on an HDTV is like listening to an audio CD through a 1930s gramophone speaker.
Even for those who don’t yet have an HDTV we maintain that a Blu-ray is a worthy investment—you’ll eventually be buying one anyway (read our review of the best inexpensive HDTV sets) and once you do you’ll have access to a host of interactive Blu-ray movie features. (What those features are exactly varies from movie to movie). Most of all, movies look considerably better with Blu-ray.
Spot Cool Stuff has run through all the mainstream consumer Blu-ray player options. Here, in our judgment, are the best:
Thanks to Justin of the Wandering Justin Travel Blog for bringing this one to our attention:
Get a highly portable laptop computer and a compact desktop computer for the price of one!
That’s the deal the startup—and environmentally friendly—Cherrypal computer company is offering through Amazon.com. For a mere $400 here’s what you’ll get:
It is amazing the kind of lightweight, long battery life laptop $350 will buy these days. That’s the going rate for two superb highly portable netbooks: the Acer Aspire One and the Asus Eee PC. Both are excellent computers but each has some flaws too. Which should you choose? Read on . . .
A few months ago Spot Cool Stuff reviewed the Kindle, Amazon’s perpetually sold out e-book reader. Given the demand for the Kindle you’d think Amazon would have increased its production. Instead, Amazon came up with another way of meeting the demand. They introduced product that people would want even more: the Kindle 2.
How is the Kindle 2 different from its predecessor? And does the Kindle 2 address the shortcomings of the Kindle 1? We find out:
Telephone land lines are expensive. And so very 1990s. If you have a high speed internet connection you already have a modern communication line you can use for telephone calls.
With an eye towards ridding yourself of your phone company, Spot Cool Stuff examines three internet telephone services: MagicJack, Vonage and Skype. With all three you can dial out to any telephone number in the world. With all three you can receive a call from any telephone in the world. It is there, though, that the similarities end.
So which of the three services is best? Read on for our full analysis or skip ahead to the conclusion.
Before continuing to read this review you might want to go grab a container of Purell. Or go wash your hands with some antibacterial soap. Or both.
Have you done that? OK, here goes . . .
Prices for Nikon lenses recently jumped in the United States by between 8% and 25%. That followed similar increases in Europe, Asia, Austrialia, Canada and, well, pretty much everywhere. Price increases hit especially hard at discounters such as Amazon and Adorama (which will ship worldwide).
Fortunately, the prices for the D60, D90, D300, D3 and D3x camera bodies did not increase. At least not yet. (See our review of the Nikon D80, D90 and D300 for a comparison of those cameras)
With the higher lens prices is more important than ever to shop smart. To that end here’s our review of the best—and best value—Nikon lenses:
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