There Otter Be a Better Way...

Product: iPhone 3G Defender Case
Manufacturer: Otterbox
Price: $49.95

A small but growing company, Otterbox continues to impress me with their line of technology cases. You may have seen my Blackberry Curve case review a couple months ago. Well, now it's time to tell you about the case that started it all (for my family), the iPhone 3G Defender series case. As far as I'm concerned, there is no better way to protect the iPhone. We've actually tried 5 other cases, $149 at the high end and $9 at the low end.  Every time we went back to the Otterbox Defender. Read on to learn why I have purchased 2 of these cases (one for each iPhone) and why I'll do it again for anything else I own that they make a case for.

Lift That Laptop. 

Product: Laptop Lift
Manufacturer: Great Products Group^2
Price: $29.95

I met George Gruber, the designer of Laptop Lift, in a small booth at the back of south hall on my last day of CES 2009. As I was walking through the isles one last time, a clear laptop model caught my eye.  I went over to talk to the man running the booth and he demonstrated the product to me. He told me about how the simple act of lifting the laptop off your desk improves airflow and the natural cooling abilities already built into the computer. Not only that, but setting the laptop at an angle helps with eye, neck and wrist fatigue of the user. After a short demonstration, I was hooked. I'd been looking for something like this for a while - small, light, portable way to get my laptop off the desk at an angle to improve cooling and ergonomics.  I knew at once that this product needed to get out there in the world and people such as you needed to know about it. As of right now it is not carried in any stores in the USA, but can be ordered directly from Great Products Group ^2. I hope that will change soon and George can get some great US distributors.

Pleading Your Case for Size.

Product: Matrix
Manufacturer: InWin
MRSP: $109.99

InWin has been kind enough to send another computer case our way for review purposes. This time we’re graced with the Matrix MicroATX Computer Case. From the get-go I can tell you that this is definitely not the case for high-end PC users, but what MicroATX case is? If you’re a user looking for a clutter-free set-up and space is definitely a concern of yours, the Matrix may be just what you are look for.

 ...And Down Will Come Cellphone...

Product: Defender Series™ for BlackBerry® Curve™
Manufacturer: Otterbox
Price: $49.95

Otterbox creates specialized cases for phones and other electronics. A small but growing company, the cases Otterbox has created are amazingly tough and molded for each phone model. Here I'll be reviewing the case for BlackBerry Curve. I recieved the case a few weeks ago and wanted to give a good amount of time in use before my review. Being in the IT field, you might not think that I would need such a sturdy case. It is amazing, however, how many times a person will drop a phone. Ok ok, it's amazing how many times I will drop a phone. Now normally it falls on soft carpet at home, but at work the carpet has no padding underneath.

Drop And Give Me 850, Soldier!

Product: Commander 850w PSU
Company: InWin
MSRP: $250

Today’s computers, especially gaming rigs, have become power-hungry beasts. I can attest to this by sheer fact that I have 3 power rigs in my office running multi-core processors, multi-core graphics cards and even multiple graphics cards. Today we’re taking a look at the Commander Series 850w PSU from InWin. As with all electronics I receive for review, the Commander PSU sat for a nice, long 72-hour total burn-in period to test its durability and heat. How did it hold up? You’ll just have to read on to find out.

When You Want Your Computer To Sneak Up On You...

Product: B2
Manufacturer: InWin
MSRP: $140

I’ve actually had this case for a couple weeks now but I had to order some new parts to put it to use (or gut my existing 79lbs gaming rig… which I was not up to doing). On top of that, I like to give computer hardware a 72 hour burn-in period where I let the unit run for 72 hours straight, no breaks, no rest, just running at peak level for 72 hours. Being a computer case one would think this is an unnecessary task, but the B2 actually has a lot of bells and whistles that needed scrutinizing. And scrutinize I did.

Sure, It Feels Like a Scuba Suit, But I Wouldn't Take Your Laptop Swimming 

Product: Laptop Sleeve 17" - Fiery Orange
Manufacturer: Built NY
Price: $40.00

For those times when you need to protect your laptop, but you don't want to haul round a big heavy laptop bag - Built NY has the simple Laptop Sleeve to help you out.  The sleeve is made of neoprene with a colorful outside and black inside. The zipper is plastic with a metal pull.   It can hold up to a 17" laptop, as long as the machine isn't too thick. A Macbook Pro fits fine, where as our ASUS G2S did not fit in the sleeve.

What Drives Your Drive? 

Product: Na HDD Enclosure
Manufacturer: InWin
MSRP: $49.99

Now when it comes to form versus function I’ve always been a mixed-bag sort of person. On one hand I can’t stand when something looks atrocious just to perform its function. On the other hand, I hate when manufacturers worry more about the appearance of their product that they do the quality. So how does the Na from InWin stack up in this category? Let’s take a look.

The Walls Are Alive, With the Sound of... 

Product: YSP-1100 Digital Sound Projector
Manufacturer: Yamaha
MSRP: $1,700
Current Street: $730

In my house, we have every current gaming system and large HDTVs to play them on. Of course with this setup I don't want to be piping the surround sound through TV’s crappy stereo speakers. For sound, like a lot you, I went with a standard 5.1 system. The sound was good, but there were problems: Where to hide the many, many feet of wires? Where or how to attach the rear speakers to the walls, and again with the wires? Overall, the system was a bit unsightly with wires running along the floor and up the walls. 

Because Sometimes You Like To See Who You Are Talking To... 

Spending that left over Christmas money is always a pain, and when you're looking for a visual solution for IM applications that actually preforms to the price on the box you might as well throw that dream out the window along with the cash you have wadded up in your coat pocket. That is until you see the Microsoft savior sitting on the end of the aisle, suddenly all of you're dreams come true with the choirs of angels belting out the hymns of sweet webcam salvation.