2010 BMW 535i Gran Turismo Mini-Review

2010 BMW 535i Gran Turismo

Every so often a car comes around that leaves such an impression on the auto industry and the buying public that it changes the course of automobile design, perhaps even moving things in a whole new direction while still embracing timeless elements from the past. The BMW 535GT (Gran Turismo) is most definitely NOT that car. It was clear right from the beginning that BMW was hoping the GT would usher in a new era of the classic “estate car”, but in fact the GT has been anything but.  Not that it could have even come close with the 7-Series size and the looks that make you wonder “what were they thinking”. Ultimately the GT is a grand affair with subtle yet distinct lines, a huge pile of the latest BMW technologies, all combined into one of the hardest-to-like packages yet seen from the German automaker. Needless to say, I was less than impressed with the results.

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Barnes & Noble Nook Color Mini-Review

Yea, I know what you are thinking….old news right? The Nook Color was released ages (or is that eons) ago in tech years so why would I even bother to review it now? Well, rest assured I have my reasons….and they not as nefarious as you might think! You see, recently Barnes and Noble made some major (aka, HUGE) updates to the Nook Color, taking it from simple e-reader right on up to tablet status. What does that mean in non-babble talk….well, think Angry Birds for starters.
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5 Online Video Sites For Both TV Shows & Movies

Right on the heels of my last post about how I ditched cable for internet only video comes a quick list of five sites that let you follow in my footsteps and get both TV shows and movies online. Most folks who are currently stuck with cable or satellite TV might not realize that so much content is now available online but after checking out these sites they might just change their minds. There are literally thousands of movies and just about every major show online for free and the rest will only cost you about $2 per episode to own. So get the popcorn and put your feet up (in front of your computer) and enjoy some of the best programming the internet can offer…

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2008 BMW X3 SAV Mini-Review

BMW X3 SAV

In a world where the SUV has become a symbol of excess and poor fuel economy you would think the market for such vehicles would have virtually disappeared by now. But in the BMW X3 there may be life after death for those who still want a smaller, more “politically correct” SUV that hopefully won’t make too many compromises. Unlike the larger X5 the X3 draws most of it’s styling and mechanicals from the 3-Series sedan (previous generation) which makes for a far more car-like interpretation of the SUV. BMW makes this clear by calling the X3 a Sport Activity Vehicle (SAV) in an effort to an effort to differentiate the brand. Nomenclature aside, the reduction in size and the more European feel to the X3 make this BMW a slightly more attractive option when compared to the competition from Audi, Lexus and Infinity. Overall I liked the X3 for what it was but it was not without fault and I found that most of the appeal could be found in the SUV-like utility combined with the smaller form factor. While I can’t say I totally recommend the X3 (read on for details on why) I can say that it does offer an intriguing mix that will undoubtably appeal to more cost-conscious buyers looking to still satisfy that SUV fix.

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SmartDisk 80GB External Hard Drive Mini-Review

If you find yourself out on the road with your digital camera it is likely that you will at some point run out of memory card storage. So what do you do? Well, like most you might just keep your notebook computer close at hand to download your pictures to or you can simply swap out for a fresh memory card. Both of these solutions work well if you are not in a hurry and you don’t mind carrying your laptop with you but what if you don’t want to lug around a heavy laptop and a fistful of memory cards just makes you cringe? Well, thankfully someone has thought up a simple solution to this common problem: an external hard drive that can read common memory card formats! I can’t say enough good things about this concept. When you are out on the road being able to pull out a battery operated hard drive that you can just pop your memory card into to back up your photos is just plain awesome. Big question is; does the SmartDisk 80GB (PB80) stack up? Read on to find out.

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Roomba 530 Mini-Review

After almost two years running my original iRobot Roomba Discovery the poor little guy was starting to look a little worse for wear. iRobot advises that you should clean the brushes and such after no more than three full cleaning cycles, something my Roomba was not always subject to and the results were starting to become apparent. Strange behavior such as random shutdowns and the occasional incident where the battery would run out before it could find the home base led me to consider that it might be time for an upgrade. Cash in hand I settled one of the newer models I found at the local Best Buy. The iRobot Roomba 530 is a complete reworking of the original Roomba design. Featuring several new cleaning tricks and a much improved battery this model looked like just the right excuse to upgrade. Although there was a lot to like about this new Roomba but my experience ended up leaving me with mixed feelings about the Roomba 530 and ultimately led to me returning the unit to Best Buy in defeat.

Technorati Tags: irobot, robot, roomba, vacuum

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Blackberry 8310 Curve Mini-Review

In a lot of ways the new Blackberry 8310 Curve (AT&T version) is very similar to the 8800. It supports media playback, GPS, and all the expected Blackberry features for email and PIM. Where the curve differs is in size, weight, and several interesting features pulled from the other popular consumer Blackberry, the Pearl. Having owned several Blackberries and numerous other cell phones my expectation with the 8310 was centered around the idea that the 8310 was the replacement for the very popular 8700c that served me well for far longer than I anticipated it would (still works even now, years later…). So how does the 8310 compare? Can it improve upon both the 8800 and the 8700c? The short answer is yes, and read on for more details on how I think the 8310 might just be one of the best Blackberries yet.

Technorati Tags: AT&T, blackberry, cell phone, Curve, PDA, 8310, RIM

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A Mac User’s View of Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn)

After my less-than-thrilling experience with Windows Vista I decided to take the plunge and download the latest release of Ubuntu with the intent to see just how far Linux has come in the last year or so. Last time I used Linux was for a server setup which worked very well but I was not all that impressed with the desktop implementation back then, which was about a year ago. Since then Ubuntu has emerged as a major force on the Linux desktop front with several solid releases that have much of the internet buzzing about how Linux might be finally ready to give the folks in Redmond a run for their money. So what does a die hard Mac fanboy have to say about the latest release of Ubuntu (Ubuntu 7.04) Feisty Fawn? Quite a bit actually…..

Technorati Tags: apple, linux, mac, review, ubuntu, vista

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AppleTV Mini-Review

Now that the initial buzz about AppleTV has had a chance to die down I figured it would be a good opportunity to discuss my own impressions and experience setting up and playing with this new device. First off, one major misconception regarding the AppleTV is that it will compete with Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center Edition software product. This could not be further from the truth. As many other AppleTV users have already discovered, this device is something much different and does not attempt to be all things to all people. Although the AppleTV has some very compelling features for those who exclusively use iTunes to manage their media library, folks who don’t use iTunes won’t find anything useful about this product.

Technorati Tags: airport, apple, gadgets, ipod, AppleTV, review, video

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Blackberry 8800 Mini-Review

Having been a long time fan of the Blackberry 8700c from Cingular I found myself being drawn to the latest edition to the Blackberry lineup, the 8800. Several of the new features such expandable memory and the GPS navigation seemed to make a very strong case for the cost of getting an upgrade. So I took the plunge and picked one up at the local Cingular store and after one month of using this new Blackberry I have quite an interesting review for everyone. If you are interested in making the upgrade from the 8700 to the 8800 then you won’t want to miss this review!

Technorati Tags: blackberry, bluetooth, cell phones, gadgets, review

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