Gadget Wisdom

Any organization that we sign with as an affiliate is usually an organization we believe in, or at least patronize. We’ve signed up as an affiliate for Soda Club because we own their product and we like it…it is as simple as that.

Soda Club offers a kit for complete soda making. It consists of two components. One is a CO2 injector which turns regular water into carbonated water, and the other is the variety of syrups they offer.

They sell three different soda makers. The Fountainjet, the Edition 1, and the Penguin. The Fountainjet and the Edition 1 are very similar. The major difference is that the Fountainjet is white and the Edition 1 and black and silver. They both use the same heavy-duty plastic bottles. The more expensive Penguin uses 620ml glass carafes. All three offer a three year warranty.

We bought the basic model…the Fountainjet.

Flavor-wise…all of the regular flavors are sweetened with a mix of sugar and Splenda. The diet flavors use Splenda. Compared to commercial brands, they have less sodium and caffeine than their counterparts. They are also kosher, for those of you who are Jewish. Regular flavors include: Apple Peach, Cola, Cranberry Raspberry, Cream, Fountain Mist(Mountain Dew), Ginger Ale, Grape, Lemon Line(Sprite), Orange, Orange Mango, Pete’s Choice(Dr. Pepper), Pink Grapefruit, Root Beer, Tonic, and Vanilla Cola. It also offers an energy drink and a variety of diet flavors including: Diet Caffeine-Free Cola, Diet Cola, Diet Cream, Diet Fountain Mist(Mountain Dew), Diet Ginger Ale, Diet Lemon Lime(Sprite), Diet Orange, Diet Pete’s Choice(Dr. Pepper), Diet Pink Grapefruit(Fresca), Diet Root Beer, Diet Tonic, and Diet Vanilla Cola.

If you don’t like their flavors, you can always make your own. Their offerings are at least as good as generic soda brands. And our favorite advantage…no lugging soda bottles from the store then having to lug a bag of empties to the curb on recycling day.

Just so you don’t think we are being biased, we offer this review by Gizmodo. Essentially, the system is easy, supplies are inexpensive to mail order, and it is so cool to say you make your own soda. The idea is catching on.

Crunchgear reports that the video iPod line will transition completly from hard drive based storage to flash memory. Flash memory is more commonly used in some media players, including the iPod Nano line, due to its decreased power requirements and higher durability.

With increased features and functionality being in demand, and the decreasing cost and storage space of flash memory, the move can be a good one. But 32GB of flash memory is only as good as the lowest standard iPod storage space count…although the availability of larger flash memory modules is no doubt around the corner. Flash memory does have a shorter possible lifespan than hard drive storage, but the estimated lifespan is not that far off the warranty period of a standard hard drive.

We tend to prefer flash memory systems over hard drive ones. Mostly because we can’t foresee needing our entire music collection in our pocket at all times. With video…there is a need for more space to store each hour…but for those who need it…technology marches on.

The Philadelphia News reports that the standard for a two-way, interactive version of the CableCard has been approved. Several companies at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show demonstrated devices that would work with it.

As we’ve mentioned in the past…the idea of a CableCard is simple, and mandated by the FCC. The card would allow devices such as televisions and consumer owned tuners to become cable ready, by decrypting the content instead of requiring consumers to rent cable boxes from the cable provider at an expensive monthly cost. The problem has been so far that these devices are only one-way…blocking such features as on-demand programming, electronic program guides, and so on from being available.

Personally, while we have never seen an inexpensive television with a CableCard slot, this could pave the way for that option, now that the same experience as a cable box can be integrated and universal. We are hoping to see inexpensive CableCard options popping up within the year.

We have not yet used an IPhone…and we don’t intend to buy one. We are frugal people…and the iPhone is most definitely not a frugal purchase. Since we will not be reviewing the iPhone…we turned to the Consumerist’s roundup of professional reviews…people had issues with it. It seems the technology needs more time to mature.

With the recent decision stating that cell phone companies have to provide unlock codes for their phones, allowing all the functionality they’ve restricted to be restored, as well as transfer to another network, we thought it would be a good idea to give people a place to start.

PC Magazine presented this article on How to Unlock Your Phone. This includes a series of unlocking services, sites, etc. For free options, try Howardforums.com, a good forum for all things mobile phone…including hacks, reviews, advice, etc.

Of course, most of the unlocking services mentioned only work for GSM phone…the ones used on networks such as Cingular and T-Mobile. CDMA Phones, used by Sprint, Verizon, Alltel, etc, have to be individually authenticated by their networks. So, even if your existing provider lets you unlock the phone, your new provider will not add it to the list of approved phones on its network.

Most providers sell different versions of the same phones, using their own custom firmware(the software that operates the phone) which could be changed to the specific firmware for a different carrier. The carriers refuse to cooperate.

For those of you who use GSM phones, check out this ABC News article on the Best Unlocked Phones. Just bear in mind that without contract you will be paying more to secure them. Of course, that means no contract, which may be to your advantage.

Some say that with the prevalence of cell phones and internet telephony, that landlines are dead. We aren’t quite sure about that…but technology is continuing to enhance the old system.

Craigsnumber, apparently created with the goal of allowing those posting on popular site Craigslist to provide a phone number that will keep them anonymous, offers a temporary extension, although with limited area codes, that will be forwarded to your real line. You can specify the length of activation. Certainly a simple and uncomplicated service. Lifehacker has more details.

There are alternatives, of course. Freedigits.com offers a free VoIP phone line with a random US number. Their goal is to encourage you to go with them for paid service, but there are no strings attached to their free offer.

Another option is Grandcentral.com, which also offers both a free and a paid service. Their philosophy is one phone number…for life. Their free service offers three phones, caller ID, the ability to switch phones in the middle of a call, custom ringtones while waiting for you to pick up, the ability to record any call with a single button press, as well as SPAM blocking. The free service has a limitation of 100 minutes a month of calls received through them. It doesn’t offer any service not offered elsewhere as add-ons to other paid services, but it is a good option for some. Lifehacker reviews it here.

If none of these options work for you…you can always just pay for VoIP service. Just remember, despite our skepticism about customer service…if you give them money, they are supposed to help you. If you don’t…they have an excuse not to.

Gearlog posted an entry on this unique USB-powered toy Pole Dancer. Most people would agree it is lacking in basic taste, however, it is certainly the most amusing thing we’ve ever seen powered by a USB port. Remember, just plug it in and she gyrates to the prerecording music.

For the next generation, we recommend the music be able to be supplied over the USB cable…then she could dance to anything. Perhaps the same company will release a more tasteful dancer…perhaps a ballerina or something suitable for children.

Courtesy of Lifehacker.com, here is the report on their Q&A with Microsoft about Vista. Vista, as you should know is the next-generation operating system that is set to replace XP. It offers several improvements, but not necessarily anything worth rushing out for the day it comes out.

If you feel you must jump on the bandwagon, wait until the majority of companies have driver support and software support for Vista, which will take a bit.

Recently, the Consumerist directed us to a review of the Kill-A-Watt, a device that plugs in between an appliance and an outlet to give you a reading of its power consumption. We actually already owned one of these devices, from our affiliate, Smarthome.

With it, you can determine the energy wasters in your home and, if possible, replace them. Look for the EnergyStar label…and for computers, use the power-saving features built in…program them to blank your monitor, spin down your drives…even standby or hibernate if it works for you.

Since devices draw power even when apparently off, especially ones that can turn on via a remote, you might want to put devices on power strips you can manually turn off. We made a list of our devices and redistributed our electronics to allow us to turn off power to our computer monitors and such when they weren’t being used.

Just remember…a tech-enabled lifestyle doesn’t mean you are wasteful.

Sometimes the best deal is not the best option you can have. After years of trying to save money on blank CDs and DVDs and having an annoying failure rate on many of the discs, we found this guide to the quality of media.

To summarize the results, the best media is manufactured by Pioneer, Mitsubishi, Taiyo Yuden, Hitachi Maxwell, Sony, and TDK. Our advice, consult the guide, and take the advice, and don’t buy something that is likely to fail.