Remember that time when you really wanted to show someone a picture, but you really did not have a good way to show it because you were not near a computer or TV and your screen is a little small? Remember passing your camera around to the whole group of people who were trying to see if they blinked or not or seeing people hit heads as they crowded around your camera? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just project the image on a wall or something?

Well, Nikon has made this wishful thinking into reality. That is correct, they have built a small projector into one of their cameras. I never would have thought to do this, but I think that the design is a good idea.

Called the COOLPIX-S1000pj, this little gadget is the first camera with an ultra-small built-in projector (as of July 2009). The VGA projector is able to project about 40-inches onto a wall up to two meters away. The camera also comes with a remote control and a stand for your personal viewing convenience.

Not only does this camera come with a projector, but it is a good camera as well. I was surprised to see that Nikon did not sacrifice anything too drastic, except perhaps thickness, to create this camera and instead they added on all of the nifty features that you usually do not need but are cool to have. For instance, their Smart Portrait System now includes a Skin Softening feature as well as In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, Smile Timer, Blink Proof and Blink Warning. It also has a neat auto-scene selector that automatically recognizes the scene in your picture and adjusts camera setting.

More importantly, it has a 5 wide angle zoom and shoots up to 12.1 Megapixels. It has a 5-way VR Image Stabilization System that will aid in preventing blurry pictures, and it has a Bright 2.7-inch High Resolution LCD.

Here are the approximate dimensions:

Height: 2.5 in. (62.5mm)
Width: 4 in. (99.5mm)
Depth: 0.9 in. (23mm)

And here is the approximate price: $430…. yikes.

Over the past few years, there has been a lot of buzz about eBooks.  However, unlike many other fleeting obsessions, eBooks really are entering the mainstream.  They are not just a trend anymore, electronic books are here to stay.  There are industries forming around them as we speak.

As an author, they are an attractive item because it is extremely expensive to publish and market traditional hardbound books.  There are inventory issues and the problem of what to do with unsold copies.  These issues are not present in the eBook format.  Thanks to technology, the future for these is so bright, they might have to wear shades.

The major issue from day one of the eBook is the annoyance of having to sit at the computer to read a book and the strain of the monitor on the eyes of the reader.  No one wants to read an entire book while sitting in some office chair.  Thanks to eBook readers like the Kindle and Sony, they have gained major steam with the everyday reader.  These eReaders are portable and are easy on the eyes.   They almost appear exactly like the page of a book.

eReaders are great for those who like to read multiple books at a time because many of them can store hundreds and even thousands of books.  There is no need to carry large books around anymore.  In fact, the Kindle allows you to buy books from Amazon right where you are.  Even my iPhone has an application for reading eBooks.  There are more readers popping up quite frequently.

Another advantage in addition to carrying your whole collection with you is the ability to have some privacy.  I hate reading a book and having someone come up to me and talk about why they liked it or even why I shouldn’t read it.  Besides, I look smarter when people don’t suspect I am reading Calvin and Hobbes.

Lastly, eBooks are much cheaper than the real thing.  I just bought an electronic college book for a $100 discount.  Whether you’re an author saving cost or a literary enthusiast eBooks are here to stay.

Are you in the market for a baby monitor?  Then your last stop is the Summer Infant Best View Color Handheld Video Monitor.  This monitor is a wireless camera with many features for those who want to be on top of every moment when you are not in the room.

I know most people don’t think the topic of baby monitors is an interesting one, but this monitor is very cool and actually could be used for many different applications.  However, my favorite is the intended purpose…watching my little girl when she thinks I am gone.

The baby monitor comes with a handheld video monitor with a  2.5″ color video screen.  Although, the kit only comes with one camera, up to five can be added.  The monitor also allows you to hear the noises baby makes along with a sound sensitivity bar in case you want to mute the volume.  Lastly, the best feature of this monitor is a remote control pan of the camera with zoom.

You read it right, the camera is adjustable by remote control.  The camera can be tilted up and down and rotates roughly 270 degrees.  This mobility lets you see almost every area of a room.  I am very pleased with the motion and angles you can achieve with ease.  The zoom is not controllable other than zoom in and zoom out.

When there is ample light, the monitor provides a color view and the night vision feature displays in black and white.  Automatically, the night vision kicks on when the light disappears.  Honestly, there is nothing you need to do except point the camera where you want to watch and enjoy.

My only objection to the system is the mount.  If you are placing it on a flat surface like a table, there is nothing to worry about.  However, if you are mounting it to the wall there can be some challenges.  The camera has all the weight and extends outwards, so if you are not into the stud it will pull the screw right out of the wall.  Forty pound drywall anchors worked for me.

After realizing that I was constantly craving the ability to have a web browser in the palm of my hands during the school day, I decided it was time to invest in either a Microsoft Zune or an iPod Touch 3g. I knew that the 3g was not what people were expecting and that it was a major let down, but after comparing the prices for a used 2g via Amazon or Ebay to the prices of a new iTouch, I decided that I was going to get something brand spanking new.

I will put this out there, I hate iTunes with a passion. I had decided that the ZuneHD was the toy for me based solely on the fact that I would not have to deal with iTunes and would instead be using the Zune Marketplace. For instance, the Zune Marketplace offers a great deal where you can listen to any music that you want for $15 per month and at the end of the month you can pick 10 songs to download. I then held my friend’s Zune in my hands.

Let me tell you, that thing is fantastic. It is so small, but it does have a generous 3.3 inch (diagonal) screen. It is extremely light (75 grams versus Apple’s 113) and a beautiful player. The Zune had pretty much sold itself to me when my friend put it in my hands. It self-orientated faster than the touch, it was well organized, and its sound quality was absolutely astonishing. Oh, and did I mention the built in radio or the OLED screen–making video crystal clear? It also is offered in a 16gb version while Apple cut that one out of the production line.

Needless to say, I went with the iPod touch. I had gotten rid of my first one because I wanted built in speakers and microphone compatibility– two things that the Zune did not have. I know that I bought something that comes with iTunes and that has a lesser quality screen (though it is bigger) and sound. I also know that Apple is probably going to come out with this killer new update next year, but I cannot wait a whole year. So, we’ll see how this Touch goes…

In my, opinion, many people buy iPods, not because of capabilities, but because of the name.  There are many equal, but under loved competitors.

Let’s talk about the biggest, but still relatively unknown competitor, Microsoft’s Zune.  The Zune is a digital audio player produced by Microsoft. The line also includes Zune software and the Zune Marketplace services sold by Microsoft, which provide online music, video, and podcast downloads.  The Zune 30, the first generation Zune music player, has a 30 GB hard drive, 3” screen, and simple directional pad for menu navigation.  The second generation set of Zunes includes the Zune 4, 8, 16, 80 and 120.  The Zune 4, 8 and 16 are smaller in size and hold 4, 8 and 16GB of flash memory, in the same order. The Zune 80 and 120 are replacements for the Zune 30, as they are thinner and lighter than the original.  The Zune HD was confirmed for release in fall 2009 by Microsoft.  This will be Microsoft’s version of the iPod touch.

One of the best features of the Zune is the Zune Marketplace.  The Zune Marketplace is an online music, video and podcast store , equivalent to iTunes.  Purchases are made through Microsoft Points, in which users prepay $5.00 for 400 points that can be applied to downloads at 79 points per song.  As an alternative to Microsoft Points, the Zune Pass is a subscription service that allows users to pay a flat monthly fee of $14.99 . Zune Pass subscribers can download unlimited music from the Zune Marketplace, but this music will be lost when the pass runs out.  However, you can keep ten songs a month.  You can sync this info wirelessly.  Unfortunately, you need Windows Vista or XP to use a Zune.

The Zune also can play music though an Xbox 360 and create play lists for gaming.   More features supposedly are coming to the Xbox.

So, what are you waiting for? Think outside the box!

Remember that time when you finally mustered up enough money to splurge? After a few weeks, or months, of thinking about how you wanted a new mp3 player but did not know if you wanted the whole nine yards (Internet browser, stopwatches, touch screen, playlists, album art, etc. ) you finally gathered up your confidence to  purchase the famed iPod Touch. Either that or you decided that it was time for a new MacBook, and you took the deal that enabled you to get a Touch for dirt cheap.

Well, if you were an iPod Touch consumer by method of the first case scenario, do you then remember how you felt when they came out with the iPod Touch 2G just a few months after you had finally worked up the courage to buy the 1G?  It had better Wi-Fi, a thinner shape, much lower prices, a volume control toggle, built-in speakers (granted the speaker quality was not that great), and more.

Well, Apple did it again this year! They came out with a new iPod Touch. The thing that they have on us consumers now is that the first generation iPod users may decide that it is time for a new iPod Touch– though based on history some users would say, well… they’re coming out with a new one next year that will be even better, and they will wait for the next one to come out in September 2010.

In any case, those who waited and bought the 2nd generation knowing that the first was no longer going to be the “hot new item,” still can be laughing at the 1st generation buyers. Even though the 3rd generation is even less expense to buy, you are pretty much buying the 2ndG iPod Touch.

When Apple released the 3G at the beginning of September, it was such a letdown. There is no camera, no built-in mic, no GPS system, and more. It simply has  a faster processor, comes with mic and remote headphones, and has the built-in voice control and voice recorder. Oh, and they got rid of the 16GB option.

Security Essentials, Microsoft’s free antivirus software, is getting out of the beta stage and will be released to the public in a few weeks. This is according to an email sent by Microsoft to the participants in the beta testing that started in June.

Microsoft Security Essentials is meant to offer users of licensed copies of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 basic protection against viruses, spyware, rootkits and Trojans. It will not have the encryption capabilities, password storage, firewall protection, parental controls, and backup services that can be found in most expensive security software, but its basic features  seem to be good enough for most computer users.

How good will Security Essentials be? The first thing that most of those who have participated in the beta testing have noticed is that Security Essentials is not a memory hog. Unlike most expensive and robust security software, this one is very light and you forget that it is even running. It uses just around 4MB of system memory even during scans. As to protection against malware and viruses, Security Essentials has the ability to scan archives like Zip and Rar files and just like most paid antivirus programs it can create a system restore point before deleting infected files. It scans all your drives including the removable ones on demand. It also offers real-time protection and alerts the user when a virus or malware is detected. It also automatically scans the files that you download and monitors file and program activity in your system. If a suspicious file is detected by the real-time protection, it will be reported to the user with suggestions on what to do with it. If the user takes no action Security Essentials will decide for itself what to do with the file in question after 10 minutes of detecting it.

The features that are mentioned above are good enough basic protection for the average computer user. Some people believe that if Microsoft Security Essentials delivers what it promises when it is finally released to the public, it may hurt big security software companies. But we cannot tell because security threats are becoming more and more sophisticated these days and people may feel that real protection can only come from security software giants.