Logitech HD Webcam C525 (Product Review)

.

Well, since we are working real hard to make it to 3,000 strikeouts on this glob before we retire, I figured I'd go ahead on and post #2996.

I didn't really intend to post this, as it was just an experiment I did.  But, it passed THE RETARD TEST, and seemed lame enough to be figured in the mix.

It's a V-log.

Sorry.

Looking for a decent digital camera under 200 bucks? (Product Review)

.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to replace my trusty old Kodak DX4330 3.1 megapixel camera that I've had for about 10 years (If memory serves, I paid about 300 bucks for her way back when).  Well, I'm not really replacing her...just gonna pass her on to #4 son.  She has served me well.  I've taken about four thousand pictures with her, and I've got ZERO complaints.


The good folks at Kodak (which are going out of the biniss as I understand) made a fine piece of equipment in the DX4330.  3.1 megapixels was plenty enough for fairly large prints, and I learned how to use every function easily.  Almost every picture you've seen posted on this hyar glob was shot on her.


Good girl!


But, I wanted to get a digital camera with some of the newer features, higher resolution, etc.  I thought about going with a digital SLR, but that would really be overkill for Yours Truly.  I really don't have a need for such.  So, I began to shop around the 'net, and keep my ears open.


A few weeks ago I was listening to Kim Komando (The Digital Goddess huba huba) on Saturday morning on KEEL 710 (I'm a faithful Kim listener), and she was talking about the line of Sony Cyber-shot cameras they'd come out with.  I did a little research, and found mostly positive reviews.  So I found the model I thought would suit me best.

  The Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H70

I bought one at The WalMart for under 200 bucks.


There is a tremendous difference in this camera and my trusty old Kodak.  The DSC-H70 is a 16.1 megapixel deal.  It has a 10x optical zoom (25 mm to roughly 250mm...which I liked.  My old Kodak never seemed to give me a wide enough angle...but, she was old).


When I broke the thing out of the box, I thought, "Man!  This thing is tiny compared to my EasyShare!"  And, it truly is.  It is really "pocket-size" at 2" x 4", and right at 1" thick.

And, I discovered that it comes with a rechargeable battery.  I'm not so sure I'm going to like that.  I've been used to popping 2 "AA" batteries in my old Kodak, and throwing them away when they play out.  The Cyber-shot uses a MP-BG1 lithium ion battery.  The recharger is included in the box.  But, I'm not real big on recharge type batteries, and worry about battery life.

If any of y'all have any advice on this, I'd appreshunate it. 


The instructions are pretty good, but while trying to wade through them I got confused by some of the terminology.


Nothing new there.


The PMB software that comes with it is a little confusing, too.


Nothing new there.  But, I'll figure it out.  

Maybe.


So, I decided to take some experimental pictures while I'm figuring this thing out.


It'll take me a while to learn all the ins and outs of it, but it sets up pretty easily, even for a retard like me. It makes "panoramic photos," which is something new to me.  I tried it and it's pretty cool.  You start taking a picture at one spot...then you slowly move the camera in the direction of the arrows, and it continues to shoot the picture until it quits.


Pretty dang cool!  I can not show you the panoramic picture I took, because...well, just because.  But, trust me, it works really good.


I took a couple of flower pitchers.

Wow!  That sucker took a looooooong time to upload!  I guess a 16.1 megapixel photo takes a lot longer than a 3.1.


Let me try to resize the next one.  Y'all hang on...

Okay, that one uploaded in about 1/10 the time, but I think I resized it too small.  It's not real sharp.


I'm learning.


And, NO EXPERIMENTAL PHOTO SESSION IS COMPLETE WITHOUT A PICTURE OF SADIE!  Hang on while I resize it...but not too small...

JUST RIGHT!  Good girl!!!

One of the main reasons I wanted to replace my old Kodak get a newer model camera is because I wanted to be able to shoot video, too.  Sure, my old Kodak DX4330 shot video, but there was a HUGE battery drain, and no sound...and only 3.1 megapixels.


So, let's just look at an experimental video I shot with my new Sony Cyber-shot.  It sucks, but I needed to shoot something to see how good it does, or doesn't do.

Not bad considering the wind is blowing four million miles per hour, I was suffering, and I don't know what in the mortal hades I'm doing with this thing.


I'll figure it out.


So, I'm willing to give the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H70 a thumb and a half up at this point.  It could well go all the way up to two thumbs up after my right one defrosts.


I'll let y'all know. 

My initial thought is that for under 200 bucks, it'd be hard to beat this digital camera.  Could be wrong.  Usually am.

But, I'll let y'all know.

Trust me, this is not a paid endorsement.  Sony gave me nothing to do this stellar product review...and if you click on through the following link, I will get ZERO remuneration.  But, just in case you're interested, you can find the Sony info on my new camera here.

Just in time for Christmas gift giving! (#3)

.

Well, the old calendar on the wall is tick-tick-ticking!  There are only TWO shopping days left until Christmas!


And, have I got a gift idea for you!  You can give this to that man on your list that has everything...maybe a little too much of everything!

They've got a CROTCH GUSSET!  

And, it's HIDDEN, too!

I caught The Mrs. just about to order a half a dozen of these for me from the good folks at Duluth Trading Co. (because they're on sale at 40% off), but I stopped her before she did.  I've still got a couple of pairs of these from last year that I haven't blown the crotch gusset out in yet...so thrift shall be our motto this year.


Hurry up!  It's probably too late to get Christmas delivery, but you can print this picture out and put it in that special fella's Christmas card, and tell him that relief is on the way!


Don't bother to thank me.

How to increase blog traffic Tenfold...

.

Well, I got in from work, and checked the glob traffic. I actually haven't done that in a while, because...well...because I forgot about Sitemeter. But, I saw it in my "favorites," and looked at it.


Seems that traffic is about ten times normal today. "Hmmmmmm..." says I. So, a couple of clicks later I discover that my "product review" of my The Roku® is being hit like the fat kid in a round of "Smear The Queer."


Lookit!  The Gooble is back loving me again!  Just like the old days when it loved me...

As you click on this, you'll notice that we are ONLY #6 in the search term.  I don't count the junk at the top because it's all company stuff (probably bought and paid for).  But, #6 in this term seems to draw a crowd.

It also just tickles the fire out of me that we come in above "pcworld.com."

Nyuk...


So, the moral of the story is that if you want to have one brief moment of exultant blog traffic induced joy, post a review of a product that is being hammered up hard by one of the big boys that gets millions, or maybe billions of visits a day.


I think I'll go to bed now.  Long night at work...almost didn't get home due to stalled trains, and flooded underpasses.

But, I'm home.  Life is good.

Andy got a Roku! (Product Review)

.

Hey y'all!  Hugs, kisses, yada yada yada...


If you're interested in a piece of equipment that allows you to play streaming video from the net (The Netflix®, Hulu, NHL games, Pandora, Amazon junk, etc.) without the need of a pc, then The Roku® just might be for you.

Now, this is not a paid endorsement, nor will I get one red cent if you click through the link I'm gonna give y'all.  I'm doing this product review just as a service to humanity.


It all started like this.  I am quite possibly the last human in North America to purchase a flat screen television set.  Well, maybe not the last, but one of 'em anyway.  Yep, the old 19" RCA in #4 son's room cratered about a month ago.  Nyuk!  When I hauled it out of the house, I looked at the manufacture date.  It was built in 1983, so I reckon we got our money out of that one.


Anyway, I put our old 19" from the bedroom in there, and went down to The WalMart, where I purchased a flat panel Sanyo 26" TV. I noticed all these plugs on the side, and come to find out that it has inputs for about a million sources. So, I began to download pirated movies to my Toshiba netbook, and hooked it up to the TV to look at.


The results were pretty dang good. But, I got to feeling a little guilty about stealing the intellectual property of others. Also, the quality at The Pirate Bay is hit and miss (and, I downloaded two trojan horses, which AVG caught, thankfully).


So, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I signed up for The Netflix®. Instead of the "All You Can Watch Online" program for eight bucks a month, I opted to splurge the extra two bucks a month to also be able to get movies mailed to me that are not available for streaming (there are MANY that are not, so you might want to look in to that if you're considering joining up with The Netflix®).


Now, as y'all know, I am not a big film watcher. But, The Mrs. enjoys looking at movies, and I can tell you that our The Netflix® membership has paid for itself big-time. We were using my netbook to access The Netflix®, and playing it on our new TV.  The problem comes when I take my netbook along with me somewhere, and she's stuck at the house wanting to look at a film or something.


So, I went looking for a cheap way to access The Netflix®. I do not have, nor did I want an X-Box. I certainly didn't want to buy another small netbook just for that. And, even though we have a pc in the bedroom, it is about 10 feet from the television, and the video cable would have to run across a doorway...be plugged up, and unplugged each time it was used, etc.


The Netflix® was promoting The Roku®, so I took a look at it. I figured, "What the heck! For $59.95 (plus tax & shipping), it's worth a shot. Plus, they give you 30 days to return it if you don't like it." So, I bit!


The Roku® arrived just as promised a couple of days after I ordered it.  Dang! It's a little bitty thing, too.


See!

(Our bedroom is not Pepto Bismol pink, regardless of what this picture shows.  That would be gross.  It is a beautiful muted shade of something like a dark mauve, which everyone that passes through that room wants to paint their bedroom like it, but I digress. )

The set-up is very easy.  It comes with RCA cables to connect to your inputs. (You can use an HDMI cable, but TheWalMart is awful proud of those, so I decided to go with what came with it).  It begins setting up immediately after you plug it in.  The setup prompts you to connect to your wireless network (which I had to call #3 son for the code to do it).  It then goes through a search for software updates, restarts, and then prompts you to go to your The Netflix® account, register The Roku® to your account, and it's done.


Well, not completely done. You do have to provide a credit card, or a PayPal account in order to activate the machine. There is no monthly charge for using it, but a payment method must be in place, should you decide to stream some type of premium content from the worldwide computer. (I used my PayPal account, even though I don't ever intend to charge anything. But who knows?)


Then you're ready to get to looking at films. The main menu is very user friendly, and navigates easily. There is an on-screen keyboard that you use to type in the name of a film, or television program available on The Netflix®.  It helps you, too.  As you start to type in letters, it provides a list of possibles, and narrows the list as you type more letters.  That's nice of 'em.  As with using your pc on The Netflix® you can add selections to your queue. If you need to pause for a while you can. Or, if you have to go do something productive, you can just shut it down and it remembers where you left off looking.


I haven't tried accessing Hulu, or Pandora, or anything else yet, but I'll give 'er a rip, and let y'all know if there are any hiccups. You know, I've found myself watching movies again, now that I can look at good films that I like from years and years ago. Most of the crap made recently ain't worth warm spit, but I've enjoyed watching films with The Mrs. You know...good stuff that we looked at years ago, and wanted to look at again.


Heck, last night I was over at The Mayor's pitiful blog, and he featured "The Jerk" as some movie that was supposed to be hard to guess, or something. Nyuk...


I thought, "Man, I'd like to look at "The Jerk" again." So, I did. (Well, at least about the first 20 minutes of it until I fell on off to sleep. But, it was pretty cool to just be able to dial it up at will).


Is this an amazing time, or what?


So, to wrap this up and put y'all out of your misery, I'm gonna go ahead on and give The Roku® two thumbs up, and recommend it to y'all.  You may already have a setup you're happy with, but one of these little things may come in handy in another bedroom, or family room, or wherever.

Now, I gotta warn y'all that it is chink made.  So, if you hate the chinks you might not like that aspect of it.  Just sayin'...

Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll see if I know.