Technology Bytes

See more pictures in our flickr group and our gallery.

So pleased was the Xshot corporation with my blathering the benefits of the Xshot that they have offered the listeners of Technology Bytes an opportunity to pick one up at a discount.

From now until July 15th you can go to xshotpix.com and order the Xshot and use the promo code GEEKRADIO at the time of checkout for a $5.50 discount. Just type GEEKRADIO into the box that says Coupon when you are checking out.

It’s a good deal! I love my Xshot!

Random photo of phliKtid in the studio

The May 30th show featured special guest James Kendrick of JK On The Run. He was kind enough to sit on on the show and field some questions about mobile computing devices.

He even brought a passel of nifty gadgets!

Technology Bytes Podcast - May 30, 2007 [ 2:00:40 ] Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

How many times have you wanted a picture of yourself or a picture of yourself with a friend or even a group of friends? What do you do? Risk theft by handing your expensive digital camera to a stranger to take the shot or setting it down nearby?

Many of us have discovered how to hold a camera at arms length and snap the shot, but these pictures tend to be poorly composed and not very satisfactory.

Enter the Xshot

This nifty little device allows you to attach your compact digital camera and then hold it out and away from yourself, up to 37 inches (94 cm) away! And it retracts down to a small enough size to fit in your pocket, making this device very easy to bring along on any outing.

The Xshot is the perfect accessory for a night on the town or travelling on vacation!

Here’s a picture I took of myself just holding out the camera:

And here is the same picture using the Xshot

As you can see, there’s much more in the picture. This means better travel photos when you want the ultimate self portrait.

Compare after cropping:

By moving the camera away you also get less harshness caused by the flash going off so close to the subject. So when you crop the picture you get a better result. And it’s the perfect tool for the flattering angle shots used on social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace.

Learn more about this device at xshotpix.com

We’ve got two special treats for you on this week’s Technology Bytes episode.

Treat No. 1: The fundraiser’s over! Yay!

Treat No. 2: James Kendrick, who runs the popular jkOnTheRun gadget blog and jkOnThePhone, a cell-phone blog on our own chron.Commons, will be our in-studio guest.

James lives in Houston, and he recently brought some of his wond’rous gadgets to a Geek Gathering. We’ve asked him to bring along more goodies — listen in to hear us ooh and aahh!

And, of course, if you’ve got questions about mobile devices — PDAs, cell phones, digital media players, notebook computers, etc. — this would be the night to ask ’em!

Tune in from 8-10 p.m. Wednesday on KPFT, 90.1 FM, or listen online at KPFT.org.

An FYI for our podcast listeners:

We don’t tend to post podcasts of the show while we are in fundraiser.

This is because these episodes tend to be mostly dedicated to encouraging our local listeners to donate money to the publicly funded radio station (KPFT).

If you really want to hear our “beg-a-thon” you can collect these episodes from archive.kpft.org

We’ll resume posting here at geekradio.com after the fundraiser is over.

Look for a new podcast episode on or after May 30th.

When I was in The Netherlands a few months ago, I outfitted my 17″ MacBook Pro with a MarWare Protection Pack that consisted of a keyboard cover and a hand rest that adheres to the rather large piece of real estate surrounding the touchpad. While this does wonders to protect my screen from keyboard cuts, the outer shell of my MacBook was still vulnerable to scratches and scrapes.

A few weeks later, Jay Lee threw a box my way with the understanding that I would write a review of its contents. That was the better part of two months ago. Luckily for the folks at Sonnet Technologies, I took my time. The product in question is their newest edition to the MacBook protection line, the 2fit Laptop Sleeve.

The first time I tried to insert my MacBook into the sleeve, it was a *very* tight fit. Given the heft of the 17″ MacBook Pro, I needed some aid from the top of my desk. This left me wondering if the 2fit would do harm than good to the corners of My Precious. The trouble inserting the the MacBook was eclipsed only by the difficulty of getting it back out.

Given my track record with hardware, I knew that it was only a matter of weeks before I earthed the laptop while taking it out of the sleeve. The risk/reward ratio on this product was just too high… I was about to call it quits when I noticed that the grey microfiber fabric went smashingly well with a new courrier bag I had picked up in London on the last leg of my trip to The Hague. The sacrifices we make for style…

Now that I’ve spent some time with the sleeve, it has loosened up considerably. Instead of trying to pull it free of the 2fit’s protective clutches, I now have enough wiggle room to pull the sleeve back onto itself, allowing the MacBook to emerge from its protective cocoon in much the same way a banana emerges from it’s skin. Without the rips in the fabric, of course… The fabric seems to be very durable and somewhat stretchier than I had first thought.

I failed to mention that a screen protector was also in the box, nearly identical to the Marware protector that I was already using (there’s only so much you can do with a fitted keyboard cover that doubles as a microfiber screen cleaner). After having cut the screen of my 15″ TiBook, I was already sold on this product. If you’re not already using something to protect the screen of your Apple laptop, it’s only a matter of time before you can start to see the outline of keys biting into your screen. Don’t make the same mistakes I did…

While I have yet to soil the Sonnet 2fit sleeve, their site does claim that it is machine washable. I’ll amend this review once I toss it into the wash, perhaps including a video of the safer way to holster and remove your weapon of choice.