Archives - September 2004

• 09.22.04 Bluetooth woes posted in all
  

  I think there must be a series of steps that everyone runs through when they start using Bluetooth. At first, you think it's great: "it's the best thing since sliced bread! I can sync my PocketPC wirelessly!" or "I can use a wireless headset with my cellphone!" and you begin to believe the hype that...

• 09.21.04 You are feeling sleepy... posted in all
  

  Next on my Cool Tools list is the Pzizz . It's a tiny MP3 player designed to do one thing only: to relax. You simply turn it on, set a time (between 10 and 60 minutes) and it creates a guided relaxation audio program that's different every time you listen to it. The memory card has a library of superbly...

• 09.19.04 Cold Heat posted in geek
  

  I'm a sucker for a well-made product, and all the better if it's something where both the ergonomics and the technology are well executed. My latest addition to the list: the Cold Heat soldering tool, which arrived a couple of days ago. It's a battery-powered soldering iron with one superb benefit: the...

• 09.06.04 So close and yet so far posted in all
  

  I've done a lot of audio integration in my apps over the past few years, so I'd been really glad to see a SoundPlayer class available in the new .NET 2.0 Framework, but my joy was short-lived once I started hacking around with it. First, it only plays .WAV files. That's it. An audio component targeted...