Posts from — May 2009

I’m currently in the process of writing a very basic guide for anyone looking to step into the world of SLR photography. I bought my first Digital SLR Camera about a year ago and I haven’t looked back. In the mean time, take a look at this Amazon List I made containing much of the equipment that has helped get me on my feet. Feel free to contact me with any questions, also check out my Flickr Photostream!

I’ve been an Amazon customer for quite a while now. In all the years I have done business with them, they have not once dropped the ball. Prices are generally the lowest out there, delivery is fast, and their web site is pretty much best in class. When I found out about their relatively new packaging initiative I thought it sounded like a good idea, but didn’t think much of it.

Well, a few days ago I received my first “frustration free” packaged product – an inexpensive 4GB SDHC card. Let me tell you, I am impressed. All it took was one quick pull of a tear-strip and the card was free from the CD jewel case sized cardboard envelope. Not only was it easy to open, it certainly looked to be more environmentally friendly. Some say Jeff Bezos is the “new Steve Jobs.” While I do not totally agree, I do think he is doing some amazing things with his little online bookstore.

About six months ago I decided it was about time to upgrade my toothbrush. It had treated me well, but the battery was no longer holding a charge for more than 60 seconds, and the heads were getting harder and harder to track down. Using Google and Amazon, I was quickly able to determine that the heavy hitters in the power toothbrush playing field were the Sonicare Flexcare and the Oral-B Triumph.

The Flexcare is Sonicare’s flag-ship model. Earning its moniker from the multiple cleaning modes feature, this lithium battery powered device is the Mercedes of electric toothbrushes. Alternatively, the Triumph is Oral-B’s “Most technologically advanced toothbrush.” It’s claim to fame is what Oral-B calls SmartGuide technology. Wirelessly, it transmits brushing feedback data (pressure, time, etc.) to an LCD screen. A bit over the top? Perhaps.

Both models offered top-of-the-line features and each had earned near 5-star reviews on Amazon. After reading through some of the reviews and pricing out each model I decided to take one last step before making my final decision: ask my dentist what they recommended. To my surprise they didn’t have a preference. I was instructed that either model would work great, so long as I brushed at least twice daily and flossed nightly!

I ended up purchasing the two-handle Sonicare Flexcare bundle with UV sanitizer. One handle for me, one for my girlfriend, and a super cool UV sanitization chamber to play with! Aside from the two handles (handle is really just Sonicare lingo for toothbrush) the box also contained: two travel pouches, one travel charger, and different color rings used to personalize each toothbrush. The colored rings certainly come in handy when two people living in the same household use the same model toothbrush!

Here are my thoughts after six months-

Build Quality:
Excellent. The Flexcare feels very solid in-hand. The buttons are all sealed, easy to press, and the head slides on and off with little effort. The charging station is fairly compact and interfaces well with the handle.

Ease of Use:
Pressing the mode select button will move through all available brush modes. Including: quick care, max care, massage, clean, and sensitive. Press the power button (with the toothbrush in your mouth!) and the Flexcare goes to work. After about 30 seconds or so the head will vibrate on and off a few times, this is a signal to move on to another section of your mouth. Sonicare calls this feature “Quadpacer” and claims it helps promote even cleaning. After two to three minutes the brush shuts itself off and you are done.

What I like:
-Keeps you honest. Turn the toothbrush off before the brushing cycle ends and you are only cheating yourself out of a thorough cleaning.
-Multiple cycles. I tend to use the quick care (one minute) cycle in the mornings and in the evening I switch off between the normal clean cycle (two minutes) and the “Max Care” cycle (three minutes).
-Newly designed head. Made to resist toothpaste build-up, it is easily removed for cleaning/sanitizing. The included heads are also very soft and extremely comfortable to brush with
-Battery life is amazing. We’re talking upwards of two weeks used 2 to 3 times daily.

What I don’t like:
-Splatter! Don’t think about taking this thing out of your mouth while it is on, if you do micro droplets of toothpaste will go everywhere.
-Cost. Price is high, but then again you can’t really put a price on healthy teeth and gums.

Conclusion:
What really triggered me to write this review is how pleased I have been with this toothbrush over the past six months. Yes, three minutes feels like an eternity when brushing your teeth, but fire up your cell phone and read news/twitter updates/email/etc. The three minutes will be over in no time – the beauty of multitasking! What does my dentist think? At my last cleaning I was told my brushing could not have been better. No plaque, no tartar, and most importantly, no cavities. I wholeheartedly believe if everyone brushed with a toothbrush like this, dentists would lose a great deal of business! Hats off to Sonicare for making an excellent product that needs no improvement. A+

Support Not Just Another Tech Blog If you are going to purchase this product from Amazon, Please use this link! : Philips Sonicare FlexCare Rechargeable Sonic Toothbrush with Sanitizer

One of my photos made it to the Friday Flickr Finds posting on Consumerist.com! Check it out here (last photo in the post). If you’ve never been to The Consumerist, check them out. Very entertaining and informative articles about the wonderful world of consumerism!

Last week when I sat down at my desk two black monitors stared back at me. I thought to myself, great, another logic board bites the dust. But after a more careful inspection I was able to determine that the ’07 MacBook Pro was functioning from behind it’s black veil. I was able to start it up and shut it down as normal, the volume feedback alert sounds were also still working. Strange. Then I remembered about the Nvidia 8600 graphics card that was recalled back in October of 2008 – Bingo!

I scheduled an appointment at the Burlington Massachusetts Apple Store that evening. The next morning, with fingers crossed, I made the trip up north. I arrived exactly at 10:45am and within a few minutes I was seated at the Genius Bar. A quick hardware test revealed that it was indeed a graphics failure – Even better, it would be covered by the 2-year extended “graphics card related issues” warranty. A wave of relief swept over me, and my wallet came out from hiding. I asked the “Genius” what I needed to do in order to initiate the repair. He responded with one sheet of paper requiring only my signature. Does it get any easier than that? Finally, thinking the repair would most likely take a few days I asked him when I could expect it back. The Genius informed me that it should be all set by the following morning. Needless to say, I left the Apple Store with a smile on my face.

1:50pm, same day. Phone rings, it is the Apple Store. A pit forms in my stomach, thinking they found something else wrong with the laptop and I would need to pay out of pocket to get it repaired. Nope, they were calling to tell me it was all set. Yes, 3 hours later they had made the repair. While this has not been my first experience with Apple’s warranty service, it was the first time I used the Genius Bar. I am very impressed. Apple seems to have come up with a very streamlined process for handling in- and out-of-warranty repairs for their full line of product. A+

June 1st, 2009
Update: Apple has extended the NVIDIA repair policy an additional year. See below excerpt from MacRumors.com:

…At that same time, NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected. However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected. If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within three years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.
The reason for the extension is not detailed. Affected MacBook Pros may developed the following symptoms:

- Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen
- No video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on

Possibly affected models include:

- MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
- MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
- MacBook Pro (Early 2008)