For several years I've thought about building a scale replica of Houston Field House in LEGO building blocks. I've often read that building a scale model using LEGOs is difficult, but I think I've found a very useful book that would help me along the way. The Unofficial LEGO Builder's Guide by Allan Bedford covers topics like:

• Best practices for connecting bricks so your large models are as sturdy as possible,
• Tricks for calculating and using scale,
• Examples of how to build to the scale of the LEGO people (also known as "minifigs")
• Tips for sorting and storing LEGO pieces

This book includes a "brickopedia", a visual guide to about 300 of the most useful elements of the LEGO system. According to the book:

The Brickopedia (Appendix A) is a graphical reference tool that presents the most common and most reusable elements from available LEGO pieces. Although it does not contain an entry for every single piece ever produced, it does thoroughly examine the LEGO bricks, plates, slopes, and other elements that best define the highly flexible nature of this building system. I have categorized the Brickopedia using some traditional techniques but also using some newly defined criteria and classifications. I set this up intending that you use it as a stand-alone tool; therefore, it does not require a computer or Internet access to be useful.

I don't know if I'll ever build a replica of the rink I played hockey in during college, but if I do, I know which book I need to get started.

Technorati Tags: LEGO, how to book, toys

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Earlier today, Rush Limbaugh announced on his syndicated radio show that two music videos from Sgt. Clay Smith are available in iPod Video format exclusively on RushLimbaugh.com. The music videos videos were discussed on Rush Limbaugh's program on November 23 when Limbaugh replayed a call he took during a podcast that he refers to as The Fourth Hour. The caller, Sgt. Clay Smith of the U.S. military, called in from a U.S. base somewhere in the United Kingdom. The songs, called The Ones and Wings of Freedom were written by Clay Smith with music by Mark Salatin and video by M.R. Rodwell.

Whether you agree with Rush Limbaugh's politics or not, this is another indication that third parties are producing content for the iPod with Video Playback and that tons of content will be made available in this format in the near future.

The Rush Limbaugh Show has pushed the envelope of subscription podcasting for quite some time. The service called Rush 24/7, which began as a way to monetize live audio streaming of the program, has now evolved into a podcasting delivery program. They are extending the service on December 12 to support regular video podcasting as well.

Technorati Tags: Rush Limbaugh, Video iPod, iPod music videos, podcasting, video podcasting

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

One of the questions that Operation Gadget readers have about the Leapster L-Max learning game system is which Leapster games play on the television with the L-Max?. Here's a list of games that are known to work on your TV:

• Leapster Kindergarten,
• Leapster 1st Grade,
• Leapster 2nd Grade,
• Leapster Batman,
• Leapster Bratz World Jet Set,
• Leapster I-Spy Challenge,
• Leapster Math Baseball,
• Leapster Math Missions,
• Leapster Mr. Pencil Learn to Write & Draw,
• Leapster Reading with Phonics: Moles Huge Nose, and
• Leapster Thomas & Friends

LeapFrog takes a different approach. They provide a list of Leapster games that don't project on the TV with a Leapster L-Max. LeapFrog says that these games won't project to the TV for "quality and licensing reasons".

As far as I know, all of the L-Max games project to your TV. If I find out about any that don't work on the TV, I'll update this story. [ See also Leapster L-Max is a Popular Gift for 4 to 10 Year Olds ]

Technorati Tags: Leapster L-Max, Leapster, Hanukkah gifts, Christmas gifts, toys

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Leapster L-Max is turning out to be one of the most popular electronic learning games for the 2005 holiday season. I discovered this because of the response that has occurred since I mentioned the L-Max in an Operation Gadget called Electronics Dominate the Toy Wishes "Hot Dozen" Holiday Gift List for 2005.

The L-Max is the successor to the Leapster Multimedia Learning System which was very popular in 2004. The L-Max is compatible with games for the older Leapster system. It adds the ability to play many Leapster games on TV simply by connecting the L-Max to your television.

The L-Max also has an optional L-Max Recharging Kit which allows you to use a rechargeable battery pack instead of disposable AA batteries. The L-Max Recharging Kit will charge the L-Max in four hours, so it's perfect for recharging the L-Max overnight. I'm guessing that a charge will last for an entire day of L-Max use under normal conditions.

Technorati Tags: Leapster L-Max, Leapster, Hanukkah gifts, Christmas gifts, toys

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Light Flurries Projector for illuminating
your home is available at Amazon.com.
This is an example of how it might work at
your house. Click here to see a
larger photo.

Kathleen and I moved to a ranch house in Newtown, PA in July. We were in The Home Depot in Fairless Hills the other day looking at outdoor Christmas lights for our house. It occurred to us that we could string lights all the way from one end of our house to the other at the height of the gutters-- something we've never tried before. (We haven't lived in a one-story detached house since we've been married.)

The only problem with this is that the front of the house is about 60 feet long. It will take me a while to put up that many lights. I'm also not sure we can find light strands that will extend all the way across the front of our house from the outdoor electrical sockets without drawing more power than recommended.

I was looking around the Internet for an alternative and found this Light Flurries Projector from Smarthome on sale at Amazon.com. This is a light kit that you place in the yard in front of your house. It contains a spot light and a rotating mirror ball in weather-resistant packaging. The Light Flurries Projector will throw a pattern of light that looks like falling snow on any wall you point it at. The pattern is up to 60 feet high and 40 feet wide, perfect for the front of our house.

The manufacturer says that set-up time is less than 10 minutes. Instructions walk you through the steps to create the pattern and speed of snow fall that you desire. It sounds like a good alternative to stringing lights on a large house, or a nice complement to other Christmas and Hannukah light displays. [ via PopGadget ]

Technorati Tags: holiday lights, Christmas lights, Hanukkah lights, illumination

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you are a regular radio listener in major cities in the USA, you've probably heard several ads for TomTom Go portable navigation systems. TomTom has a different strategy in France. They are running a two team road rally called TomTom Raid. The teams were given no food, no money, no credit cards, just a TomTom GO 700 and a Smart car to travel across France. The teams left Paris on Monday and the race will continue until December 8.

You can follow the progress of the race daily at the website TomTomRaid.com. The site is entirely in French, so it may make more sense to our readers in Quebec and people who studied French in school than it does to me.

My father asked me what a TomTom was the other day. For those of you who haven't seen one yet, they are portable navigation systems that can be moved from car to car. They are simple in that you plug them into your car's electrical system, mount them to your car windshield, turn them on, and go. There are two models of the TomTom GO that are being marketed in the United States:

• TomTom GO 300, a turnkey GPS device that gives door-to-door directions between any two addresses in the United States, maps included on a secure digital card. The system includes spoken turn-by-turn guidance.
• TomTom GO 700, including all of the features of the 300 plus faster CPU, more memory, a hard disk for larger map and route storage, and bluetooth for handsfree phone integration.

[ via Operation Gadget reader Alexander Baarde and Alt-Buzz ]

Technorati Tags: Tom Tom, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On Sunday, Kathleen and I trekked out to the Apple Store at The Plaza at King of Prussia in the western suburbs of Philadelphia. We had some business to do there and were curious to see the Fifth Generation iPods, since neither of us had held one in our hands before.

I was surprised at how different the 30 Gigabyte iPod with Video Playback felt in my hand than previous iPods. Most of my iPod usage experience comes from the 10-Gigabyte iPod that I gave my wife for Christmas two years ago.

The new iPods are almost exactly the same height and width, but they are about half as thick. The 30-Gigabyte model is 0.43 inches deep, while Kathleen's 10-Gigabyte iPod is 0.78 inches. The 60-Gigabyte model is 0.55 inches deep. The Fifth Generation iPods we looked at on Sunday weigh in at 4.8 or 5.5 ounces, compared to 6.5 ounces for my wife's iPod.

I thought the new iPods were wider than the old ones, but that's probably because the screen are 2.5-inch diagonal color screens while the older iPods are 2-inch diagonal in the same space. The resolution of the new screens is roughly twice as good: 320x240 color, while the old ones are 160 x 128 black and white.

We compared the black and white models of the iPod with video playback, to see which one we preferred. Kathleen felt that the black model had better contast when we were watching movie trailers and music videos that had been preloaded on the Apple Store demo units. I wasn't sure. My concern was which one would show more scratches if I bought it. I think this is less of a concern with units shipping today than those shipped immediately after these models were announced,

I want to make a couple of comments about traffic in our local Apple Store. I was surprised at how easy it was for us to spend time playing with the Video iPods. Most people in the store seemed to be engaged in two other tasks:

1. Standing in line to buy iPods as gifts for friends or relatives. Those people were generally on a mission and didn't do any playing with merchandise.
2. Looking for iPod accessories to purchase. The area stocked with iPod cases, aftermarket earphone, and external speakers was quite crowded and people were spending a lot of time there. We got away from that part of the store as fast as we could.

The demographics of the two groups was also quite different. The first group was generally parents, grandparents, and young adults with plenty of disposable income. The second group was considerably younger.

Technorati Tags: Video iPod, iPod, iPod accessories, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

I missed this in the run up to Thanksgiving, but Palm released Treo 650 Updater 1.17 for Cingular Wireless customers on November 21. This update supercedes the one that was released in July and adds the following improvements:

• Includes Versamail 3.1c,
• Gmail attachment downloads,
• Optimizes Bluetooth performance for some Motorola headsets and other car kits. I have a Motorola HS850, so I'm hoping that this will help me.
• Voice quality enhancements,
• Optimizes memory handling,
• Correctly saves Auto-off power setting,
• Adds an audible beep when the phone can't initiate a call properly,
• Improves battery life by turning off the screen 30 seconds into a call. This was part of the previous update as well.

I will have more comments on the Treo 650 update after I have time to apply it to my Treo.

Technorati Tags: Treo 650, Cingular, Bluetooth, Motorola HS850, Versamail, Gmail

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A few Operation Gadget readers have written since we redesigned our pages to point out that the page sidebars are out of alignment on their browsers. Most of the people who are experiencing this are using Firefox 1.07 or earlier. These alignment problems are fixed in Firefox 1.5.

Firefox 1.5 has just been released. To get it, visit http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On Thanksgiving, my cousin Brian Lynch and I exchanged emails about our dilemma as owners of DirecTV Series 2 digital video recorders. Brian said:

My DirecTV Tivo has two USB ports in the back. The instruction book says the ports are for "future use". Do you think I can hook a USB cable from the Tivo to my computer and get movies & shows from Tivo to my computer? My laptop has a DVD burner... So that would be valuable to me.

He and I are in similar situations because I have a Philips DSR708 which was sold to me by DirecTV in July 2005. My response was:

... it's unlikely that {the USB} ports will ever work unless you hack the OS. DirecTV forked the OS before TiVo rolled out many Series 2 features.

I looked into this back in July when we moved to Newtown. Someone has done an unofficial kit to upgrade the DirecTiVo to Series 2 features, but I wasn't interested in doing that level of modifications at the time. We could look at it again now that DirecTV has {stopped selling} TiVo-based units.

I went back and reviewed the information available on the Internet, and found that PTVupgrade.com offers some upgrade kits that enable many Series 2 features. These upgrades are about as plug and play as you can get. You simply open up the enclosure following the instructions, install the replacement hard drive, reassemble the enclosure, attach a compatible wireless network adapter, and restart the DirecTiVo.

Matt Haughey of PVRblog reviewed the PTVnet DirecTiVo drive upgrades back in February 2005, and he was impressed. He includes screenshots of most of the new features that are enabled by the upgrade.

As good as this upgrade looks, it still voids your DVR's manufacturer's warranty, so make sure you understand that you are taking a risk before ordering an upgrade.

Technorati Tags: DirecTV, TiVo, TiVo Series 2, TiVo upgrade

I have a few remaining questions that I want to get answers to before fully recommending the PTVnet upgrades to Operation Gadget readers:

1. Do the PTVnet upgrades fully support the TiVo Home Media Option? This would be a key feature for me, as I mentioned in TiVo Programs Coming to Your iPod or PSP.
2. What happens to PTVnet-upgraded DVRs when a new TiVo OS feature is added or a bug is fixed?
3. Do these units look for updates from PTVnet, from TiVo, or from DirecTV? If not, are future OS upgrades limited to whatever the owner hacks into the DVR using kernel patching techniques?

I'm going to contact PTVnet and see if I can get answers to these questions. I will update this story when I have more to report.

I also want to point out that some TiVo upgrade companies don't really address DirecTiVo feature upgrades. I'm speaking specifically of Weaknees.com, who states in their upgrade FAQ:

...these types of upgrades are not as user-friendly as adding capacity. Adding hours to a TiVo is a "do it and forget about it" experience. Adding RAM, ethernet or other types of enhancements can require Linux and networking experience that many of our customers do not have. These hacks requires a knowledge of home computer networking. As of now, we have decided not to offer that product line.

Weaknees believes that upgrades of this nature are not sufficiently plug and play for non-technical customers. I disagree with them at the moment, but I note that YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). If I decide to do a PTVnet upgrade myself, I will give a more definitive opinion on how user-friendly the upgrade process is.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Earlier today Claude Sanford wrote to me with the following questions:

I have a computer running windows 98 that has been giving me a lot of trouble...freezing up, taking forever to crankup, etc. I am on Road runner and I feel like its all the spy programs and firewall stuff that they have. I know I need more memory as the system indicates I am about 60% usage without a program running. When I attempt to copy a CD into the computer for my music machine, It will stop about half way through, it will freeze....

• Would it be better to add more memory and change to Windows XP?
• Can I load XP over the 98 or will I have to reformat?
• Should I just look for another machine, mine is Pentium3, 750 mhz?

Windows 98 is an awful operating system that isn't supported by anyone anymore. You are right to think about changing operating systems. The question is "How?"

Claude, take a look at what $620 buys at Amazon.com. The HP Pavilion a1220n Desktop PC includes a 2.93-GigaHertz Pentium 4, 512 Megabytes of RAM, a 200 Gigabyte hard disk, a dual-layer DVD/CD burner-- all running on Windows Media Center 2005.

In my opinion, if you have both an old operating system and a memory issue with your PC at this point, you're probably best off shopping for a new PC. I estimate that you'll spend at least $200 to upgrade when you add the cost of a legitimate copy of Windows XP to the cost of half a gig or a gig of memory. When you're done with the upgrade, your CPU will be running at less than one-third the speed of a new machine.

Getting the new machine is going to solve a lot of problems that the upgrade won't address. You'll have a DVD burner and a very fast CPU, along with a properly-installed copy of a multimedia friendly OS. You might still want to upgrade to a gig of RAM or more, but at least you'll be doing it to a brand new PC.

I'd also recommend throwing in something like AlohaBob PC Relocator Ultra Control 2005, which gives you a hand migrating your files and application settings from one machine to another. YMMV on this software-- I haven't used it myself yet.

Technorati Tags: Windows 98, PC upgrade, HP Pavilion a1220n

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My friend Ralph Guarrieri has a rear-projection standard definition television, wants to upgrade to a new HDTV set, and asked me, "Which HDTV set should I buy to replace my Rear Projection TV?" Like practically everyone I talk to, he had already heard about plasma televisions and asked if I thought buying one was a good idea.

Plasma TVs may be the coolest looking High Definition sets on the market. I tend to see them installed in newly-constructed houses and in houses that have undergone significant additions or renovations. They are capable of displaying images with unbelievable brightness and excellent contrast. They are also extremely thin and light enough to be wall mounted.

My immediate reaction to Ralph's question, however, was to say that plasma televisions are not necessarily the right choice for every home theater for a number of reasons. Here are a few reasons why you may want to consider other technologies:

• Brightness degradation: Plasma TVs are eye-poppingly bright when they're new, but become gradually less bright over time. Most people I know who have conventional picture tube TVs expect them to last for years with little change in picture quality.
• Power consumption and heat production: Consumer Reports warns that plasma sets "use a lot of power and generate a lot of heat". I live in an area with relatively high electricity rates, so I would think twice about buying a plasma set.
• Reflections possible in brightly lit rooms: If you plan to put your HD set in a naturally lit room, plasma TVs sometimes have problems with screen reflections.

Alternative technologies include traditional cathode-ray tubes designed for HDTV use. They are big and heavy, with most large screen sets weighing over 100 pounds. I helped install a 34-inch Sony HD set in a home theater last January and I thought the picture was excellent. Another option is liquid-crystal display technology (LCD). These TVs are thin and light like plasma sets, but become more expensive than plasma at the largest sizes, and can have poor contrast.

I like the Panasonic TH-42PX50U Plasma HDTV if you are in the market for a 42-inch screen. If you have the money to spring for a 50-inch model, you'd be hard-pressed to find a model better than the Pioneer PDP-5050HD.

Technorati Tags: HDTV, Plasma TV, LCD TV, CRT TV

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Many media organizations reported that TiVo announced that the ability to transfer recorded programming from TiVo Series 2 digital video recorders to iPods with Video Playback and PlayStation Portable handheld devices. I emphasize that this capability will be available from TiVo Series 2 DVRs such as the TiVo TCD540040 Series2 40-Hour or TiVo TCD540080 Series2 80-Hour units and not the DirecTV TiVo DVR that I have at my house. Bummer for us.

According to an article that appeared in The Wall Street Journal, recording formats used by TiVo and the iPod differ, so the TiVo Home Media Option will have to be extended to support this conversion and a Windows-compatible PC will be required. As a result, the process is expected to be an overnight synchronization rather than an immeidate transfer.

TiVo is trying to demonstrate the value of a subscription to their digital video recorder service. The Home Media Option that was announced with great fanfare in mid-2003 had little appeal for me, but this feature is far more interesting. I don't need to remind you that I said video playback is going to be a very hot feature of portable media players in 2006, do I? [ Paid subscription required to read many articles from The Wall Street Journal ]

Technorati Tags: TiVo, iPod, PSP, PlayStation Portable

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Since I published Electronics Dominate the Toy Wishes "Hot Dozen" Holiday Gift List for 2005, Operation Gadget readers have "voted with their wallets" by purchasing several of the toys and games that were highlighted. Early results indicate that the hottest selling toy among the dozen is Shell Shocker, a radio-controlled transforming vehicle for kids aged 8 and older. (Don't forget you need a Tyco Pro Flexpak Battery and Charger if you buy this.)

Close behind are:

• Dora the Explorer Talking Kitchen
• iZ
• PixelChix Beverly Hills House
• iDog

A couple of related toys that were not mentioned in this article have also been picked out by readers:

• 80th Anniversary Pooh: a commemorative Pooh bear exclusively available at Toys-R-Us and ToysRUs.com. It's already temporarily sold out at Amazon.com. Keep checking if you want one.
• Dora the Explorer Vamanos Van: an SUV that includes Dora and Mami figures.
• VuGo Multimedia System: a handheld video player I mentioned in the article called VuGo Portable Video System for Kids to be Target for TV Network Content Deal.

I'll report back periodically to tell you which toys and the hottest selling with our readers as the holiday season rolls on. If you have any comments on these toys or tips on others that you think are going to be hot, feel free to post them here.

Technorati Tags: Hot Dozen, toys, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is an advisory message to readers of Operation Gadget who maintain their own headline feed readers. As part of our site upgrade that began yesterday, we are automatically redirecting requests for our old RSS feed to our new Atom feed. If you experience any problems, you can edit your Operation Gadget headline feed subscription to choose one of the following feeds:

• Atom 1.0: http://www.operationgadget.com/atom.xml
• RSS 2.0: http://www.operationgadget.com/index.xml

If you still have questions, please email me at daiello [at] operationgadget.com.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today is Operation Gadget's second birthday, and we're celebrating with a bit of a site design and infrastructure update. Over the next few weeks we hope to roll out services that will make Operation Gadget an even better resource for fans of electronic gadgets and the technology used in sports.

Thank you to the thousands of readers who've made a habit of visiting Operation Gadget. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions by posting them here, or by emailing me at daiello [at] operationgadget.com.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Oregon Scientific, a company better known for home weather stations than for iPod accessories, has released the iBall Wireless Stereo Speaker System. This cool looking two piece device consists of:

• a docking transmitter with a standard iPod connector that can be used to both charge the iPod, sync with iTunes, and transmit music to the speaker, and
• a wireless speaker with a built-in remote control for the iPod and an LCD display.

A connection is maintained between the dock and the speaker through a 2.4-GigaHertz frequency-hopping spread spectrum digital radio signal. This allows the speaker to be positioned up to 100 feet (30 meters) away.

This would be a cool addition to my house. I could keep my iPod docked with my Blogging Workstation, move the speaker to the kitchen, the work area of the basement, or the garage, and probably never lose my ability to hear what's playing on my iPod. [ via Popgadget ]

Technorati Tags: iBall, iPod, Hanukkah gifts, Christmas gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Wall Street Journal reported in its Monday edition that Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network will make some of their shows available on-demand for $2.99 per episode. According to the article:

The episodes will be tailored to work exclusively on toy maker Hasbro Inc.'s VuGo portable media player, a kind of video iPod for kids that began appearing on store shelves in recent weeks and sells for about $100 at discount retailers.

In an earlier article, I said that I put an iPod with video playback on my Amazon.com Wish List because I concluded that "video playback is going to be a very hot feature of portable media players in 2006". This deal between Viacom, Time Warner, and Hasbro is another indicator of the willingness of media companies to offer content for use on portable media players.

I think some of these initiatives will prove that there's a market for inexpensive content delivered on-demand. This will result in the availability of a wider variety of content, which will be its own demand driver. Whether lots of parents will pay $2.99 per episode for the right to download SpongeBob SquarePants episodes to their child's VuGo Multimedia System remains to be seen. { Subscription required to read most articles in The Wall Street Journal. ]

Technorati Tags: VuGo, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, SpongeBob SquarePants, Hanukkah gifts, Christmas gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

I put a 60-Gigabyte iPod on my Amazon.com Wishlist for my upcoming birthday and the holiday season. Up to now, I haven't been able to decide whether to choose an iPod with video playback capability or an iPod nano, but I decided that video playback is going to be a very hot feature of portable media players in 2006. I think the 30-Gigabyte and 60-Gigabyte iPods on sale today are a great way to get out ahead of the adaptation curve.

If you've read Operation Gadget for a while, you know that I bought my wife Kathleen a 10-Gigabyte iPod for Christmas 2003. She is a real music fan, so it made more sense for her to have one than for me. The biggest user of her iPod has been me, however, because she was a pediatric resident when she got the iPod. Until she finished residency in June, the nature of her work and her schedule severely limited her ability to listen.

I'm looking for a new iPod for myself because I don't feel that the 10-Gigabyte iPod has the capacity to accomodate both of our tastes in music, and I'd like to take advantage of the new photo viewing, podcast listening, and video playback features of the iPod platform.

The iPod nano has a lot going for it at this point. It's far and away the portable audio player with the biggest "wow factor". I don't even care that the iPod nano is prone to scratching. The thing that concerns me about the nano is that I don't want to be left without the video playback feature if I'm getting my own iPod. As the main writer on Operation Gadget, I have to stay current with the trends in the portable media market, and having an iPod with video playback capability would certainly make this easier.

Other buyers must confront the trade-offs between size/weight, cost, performance of flash memory versus hard disk, and video playback capability. These are highly personal decisions, in my opinion.

When I told Kathleen that I put a $400 iPod on my wish list, she said, "A lot of relatives probably won't buy something that expensive as a gift for you." That's true, but by saying which iPod I want, I open the door to people to buy accessories for it which more reasonably priced. In addition to the iPod, I added:

• Apple iPod Universal Dock
• iTunes $15 Prepaid Cards

I could also add a pair of after-market earphones like the ones I mentioned in "What Reasonably Priced Earphones Can I Use to Replace My iPod Earbuds?" or "Shure E4c Sound Isolating Earphones Win Editors' Choice from CNET", but I'm not that much of an earphone connoisseur yet.

One of the things that's going to be a challenge is how to choose a case for your 5th Generation iPod before Christmas and Hanukkah. There just aren't many choices, and many of those that have already been released aren't widely available. One design I like is the Tough Skin from Speck Products, which appears to be available direct from the manufacturer now, but hasn't appeared on Amazon.com. Belkin is coming out with 5G versions of its 4G cases, but I haven't seen them available for purchase yet.

I really enjoyed reading Video iPod, iPod nano, iPod accessories, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Toy Wishes Magazine has released its ever-popular Hot Dozen Toys for 2005. This list is intended to forecast which toys will be the most popular during the 2005 holidays. We can safely assume that if the magazine is correct, many of them will also become hard to find in stores at some point in the near future.

Dora's Talking Kitchen: One of my
favorites on the Toy Wishes Hot
Dozen Holiday List. Product photos
courtesy of Amazon.com.

The Hot Dozen List includes (in alphabetical order):

• Black Belts Karate Home Studio DVD: an inexpensive active play set with a video component.
• Dora's Talking Kitchen; My wife Kathleen says that the kitchen play set at her pediatrics office is the most popular toy in the waiting room.
• Fly Wheels Assortment; Couldn't figure out which toy this was, so I'm recommending the Fly Wheels Rapid Fire Launcher for the moment.
• Furby: an electronic friend that comes in multiple color combinations.
• iDog: an electronic dog that dances to music that's being played in the room. Accessories are also available.
• iZ: an interesting combination of cartoon character, speaker for music playback, and music mixing tool. You change the beat of the music by twisting iZ's ears and pressing on his belly.
• Leapster L-Max Learning System: portable version of Leapster learning system. Requires new games, available separately. Works in conjunction with TV, if connected.
• The Magnetix MagnaWorld Series: lead by Magnetix MagnaWorld City. MagnaWorld Clock Tower, MagnaWorld Magna Central, Rescue Center, and Airport also available.
• Pixel Chix: including Pixel Chix Cottage House, Beverly Hills House, and Miami Loft. Interesting electronic house simulators. Kids interact with a Pixel Chix Pal, paying attention to the Pal in order to keep advancing in the game; Ignore and Pixel Chix Pal moves out.
• Shell Shocker Radio Controlled Toy: a toy with a "bio-mechanical design" that can shift from a rolling bowling-ball type shape to a reptillian-looking robot and back. Requires a Tyco Pro Flexpak Battery and Charger and a 9-volt battery, which adds to the cost.
• VCam Now: digital camera / video camera designed for kids. Holds 480 pictures or 7 minutes of video.
• V-Smile Pocket: portable version of V Smile-- a 2004 favorite. Uses the same cartridges as the bigger unit, potentially a big savings.

VTech V-Smile Pocket:
Little brother of the V-Smile Learning
System, which was a big hit in 2004.

If the 2004 Hot Dozen list was heavy with electronics, the list is overloaded in 2005. There are only two toys on this list that don't have a big electronic component: Black Belts Karate Home Studio DVD (also available in VHS) and the Magnetics MagnaWorld Series. I bought a set of Magnetix building toys for my nephew, Ben, a year or two ago, and I really wish they had been around when I was a kid, because they're fun to build with.

Last year, Operation Gadget readers bought a lot of VTech V-Smile, a video game-based learning system for preschoolers. In my opinion, this either means that V-Smile Pocket will be a similar hit, or it will be a dud. VTech has a strong lineup of add-on cartridges compatible with both devices based on Winnie the Pooh, Mickey and Friends, and the Little Mermaid. If these cartridges are entertaining as well as educational, I'm sure parents and grandparents will buy them, and many hours of fun will be had by all.

I'm concerned that the mix of electronic and non-electronic products in the Hot Dozen has tilted too far toward the electronics this year. Will there be hits in the non-electronic genre this year, in spite of the lack of attention? What do you think?

Technorati Tags: Hot Dozen, Toy Wishes Magazine, Christmas gifts, Hanukkah gifts

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)

One of the recurring problems that Operation Gadget readers have is how to replace their iPod earbud headphones? Although some people never liked the earbuds that came with their iPod and pay big bucks to get better ones, other readers use their iPod earbuds until they fall apart, break, or get lost.

If you want to replace your iPod earbuds with earphones that perform better but are still inexpensively priced, I recommend the KOSS Spark Plug Stereo In Ear Earphones. These earphones are far less expensive than the Apple iPod Remote and Earbuds, which are the closest things Apple offers to replace the originals. The Spark Plugs have received some nice reviews, but are particularly popular with earphone hackers who like to create "Koss Hybrids" by replacing the foam-rubber tips that come with the Spark Plugs with aftermarket alternatives such as the Etymotic ER4 Replacement Eartips.

Another fairly low-cost alternative is the Sony MDR-EX81LP Stereo Earphones. If you can get over the fact that they loop over your ears, these earphones are less expensive than Apple replacements and perform reasonably well.

There's also the Creative Labs EP-630 which seem to be available mainly in Europe. Frank Koehntopp raved about these earphones, saying that they were worth the €30 he paid for them at Amazon.de.

Technorati Tags: Koss Spark Plugs, Koss Hybrids, Sony MDR-EX81LP, Creative Labs EP-630, iPod replacement earphones, iPod

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I started researching sound isolating earphones that are placed in the ear canal because so many of my friends are dissatisfied with the earphones that came with their iPods and wanted to know more about the earphones that are considered better. Through this investigation, I found that aftermarket earphones are available at a wide-variety of prices. There's also some serious disagreement about which models are the best available today.

I want to start out by reporting that CNET awarded the Shure E4c it's Editors' Choice in the category. They said:

The Shure E4c headphones represent an evolutionary advance in Shure's popular in-ear E series. They feature a new Tuned Port Technology, which enhances the tiny earphones' bass response by improving airflow around the driver. The E series' earpluglike designs block background noise so that you can listen at lower volumes in noisy trains, buses, and planes. And unlike noise-canceling headphones, the E4cs don't rely on batteries to power their hushing abilities.

The Tuned Port Technology is why I would pick the Shure E4c Earphones over the Shure E3c Earphones that were recently touted by Russell Beattie. If you read his comments, you'll see he's using them as a concentration aid when he's in the office:

I *am* a professional office worker, and I'll tell you right now, these are *the* headphones to have in that sort of environment where there's any sort of constant noise and interuptions. I pop them in, and bam, I’m in a cone of silence, perfect for concentrating and thinking (which is what knowledge workers are supposed to do, right?).... Three people can literally be having a loud conversation in front of you, and you hear nothing except your Vivaldi played at a comfortable low volume. It's like having a virtual office that you can take with you anywhere: Put the headphones on, and bam, perfect silence and privacy.

These aren't the earphones I'd want for daily use. I use earphones with Kathleen's iPod in a home office environment and I need to hear background noise. The Shure E4c and E3c are definitely not appropriate for outdoor exercise of any kind because of that "cone of silence". Whether these earphones can be safely used when doing yard work or operating walk-behind machinery is your call.

If sound isolating earphones make sense for your uses, you should check out CNET's Shure E4c review and Russell's E3c review to help you decide which sound isolating earphones to purchase. Also note that Shure makes an even more professional version, the Shure E5c.

Technorati Tags: Shure E4c, Shure E3c, Shure E5c, iPod

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I just resolved a bizzare problem that kept me from using my Motorola HS850 Bluetooth Headset with my Palm Treo 650 for a while.

When my Motorola HS850 successfully connected with a Treo 650 to which it has already been paired, the HS850 would play a very quick set of three ascending tones that lasted for about 8/10ths of a second. However, recently when the HS850 tried to connect, the Treo 650 would play a four tone sequence that sounded like notes played on a piano and lasted for more than a second. After that, there would be no connection between the headset and the Treo.

Some aspect of the data pairing the two devices apparently got corrupted. I was able to resolve the problem by following the instructions in the Palm Knowledge Base that called for deleting and re-establing the Trusted Device pair.

I was surprised to see this work because I thought I had tried this before and not been successful. Nevertheless, I got the devices to re-pair with each other and I'll have a lot more productive use of my Treo 650 for voice calls as a result.

Technorati Tags: Treo 650, Motorola HS850, Bluetooth

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was in Toys-R-Us yesterday for the first time in the 2005 Holiday Season. One of the first things I saw being promoted was the 80th Anniversary Pooh Doll from Fisher-Price and it looks like its going to be a hot product this year. Winnie the Pooh first appeared in The London Evening News on Christmas Eve 1925. Since then he's become one of the most popular characters in the history of children's literature.

The 80th Anniversary Pooh is $29.99 in stores, but you can get it for only $6.99 when you purchase $50 or more of toy or video game products from Toysrus.com or Imaginarium.com through Amazon.com. All you have to do is add the qualifying products to your shopping cart, including the Pooh doll, and enter the promotional code RTYBGBKTRUAA at checkout.

This Pooh Bear is machine washable and has a commemorative 80th anniversary insignia on his left rear paw.

My wife Kathleen loves Winnie the Pooh and we have quite a few Pooh products around the house. I'd be really surprised if this Pooh Bear doesn't come to our place this December.

Technorati Tags: Winnie the Pooh, commemorative, toys, Fisher-Price, Toys-R-Us

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

The Wall Street Journal reports in its Tuesday edition that NBC and CBS have struck video on demand deals with cable and satellite TV providers to allow the replay of some of the most popular prime time television shows for a fee of 99 cents. This will allow the subscribers to Comcast Digital Cable and DirecTV who do not own DVRs to time shift their television viewing to some extent.

According to the article:

The distribution deals will allow viewers to order episodes of some prime-time shows -- including hits like "Survivor" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" -- for 99 cents apiece. CBS, a unit of Viacom Inc., made its deal with cable company Comcast Corp., while General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal set its pact with News Corp.'s DirecTV, a satellite TV provider.

I think this is a pretty bold move on the part of network executives. They have done what they could to force their audiences to reserve time at night to watch popular programs on the networks' schedules. This policy continued through the beginning of the Digital Video Recorder era, but now they appear to have realized that they need to alter their strategy and maximize their revenue before the majority of