Best place to shop for an iPhone case.

Best place to buy a case for an iPhone?

It does not matter how much you spent (and were willing to spend) on an iPhone. You still should not overpay for iPhone accessories. The best place to look at a wide assortment of cases is your local Apple store, but everything there is extremely overpriced. You may find what you like and then hit the web in order to find a better deal. But instead you can head to a discount store. I found a great selection of iPhone cases at FiveBelow. As the name indicates, no item at this store costs more than $5. Because iPhones are hugely popular (I believe about 10% of all cellphone market) there are heavy volumes of related merchandise. Sometimes cases are marked as if they only fit iPhone 3G, but 3Gs is no different! FiveBelow has iPhone cases in many colors and designs. And they also have screen protectors. If you know of a discount store other than FiveBelow, it may be worth checking out as well.

iPhone vs. iPod

It happened so that I had to upgrade a great deal of my electronics all at the same time -- needed a better phone service, my laptop nearly broke and my iPod's hard drive became too small to handle my file collection. After much going back and fourth I decided that there is simply no way for me not to have both a 160 gb iPod and an iPhone. Here are the reasons:

• Of course, the capacity. I envision having to constantly review the files on the iPhone in order to save space and be able to download something new.
• Battery concerns. iPod batteries last a long time and I suppose they have somewhat improved with years. However, my use of the iPod is very heavy every single day. My old one had to run on red quite often. Now, add to this running a phone service, WiFi and some apps. I do not want to end up without a phone all of a sudden because I listened to my iPod too much!
• With 160 gb I can count on having a very spacious external drive to transfer files. Without that I would have to buy another device anyway. Why not make iPod that extra device? I can enjoy it while carrying to files from place to place.
• Using two devices means that the load will be divided between them. Perhaps, breaking down will not be so likely?
  

Cool-er ebook reader

There are strong indications that the ebook market is about to explode. One of the early examples of this will be the yet unreleased British device called Cool-er. It has great options for international users, SD-expansion (rated at 4 gb), good selection of supported file formats and the ebook store that promises to be more reasonable and "better-stocked" e-store. The manual for Cool-er is already available. Check it out and see if the device is right for you at $250 or so.

Cool-er ebook reader manual

Windows 7 worries gone - proof of purchase worked like magic

When I got a new Toshiba laptop at Costco it did not occur to me that in order to get my free copy of Windows 7 I will have to keep the original receipt. Usually, a UPC code is enough, right? Especially with Costco, because they never even need receipts if you bring anything back. Everything is in the system! So, I was a little worried when I found out that Toshiba wants you to scan the sales receipt as a proof of purchase for the Windows 7 update. Finally, I went to Costco and they issued what is called a "Sales audit". It did not look at all like a receipt, but contained pretty much the same information. I scanned it and a few days later Toshiba notified me that it was approved! And I was actually contemplating that I just might have to spend over $100 to upgrade. What a relief!

Panasonic TC-37LZ800 and Panasonic TC-32LZ800 manuals

Not only reviews, but personal experience have convinced me that Panasonic is currently perhaps the most reliable televisions in both plasma and LCD categories. I have seen a good number of commercial projects where Panasonic was the brand of choice. It is, of course, my tradition to make manuals easily available for every piece of electronics that comes to my attention.

Panasonic TC-37LZ800 and Panasonic TC-32LZ800 manuals

Sylvania LC321SS9 - a review

Just bought Sylvania LC321SS9 at Costco at a ridiculous price of $399. As always with Costco, I don't care if it breaks within the next two years - their warranty covers it all. It does, however, seems like a nice unit. I always compare the picture screen at the store and this one looked very nice, comparable to Sharp, in my opinion. Costco had a Vizio for $389, but the notorious Vizio power indicator/glowing logo definitely made it not worth it.

Sylvania LC321SS9 has two HDMI inputs and PC-IN. Most importantly, the sound is quite loud, much better than on my Sharp SH12U. It easily fills up the living room whether you are watching cable TV, DTV or DVD/Blu-ray. Also, the width of this unit is just a little bit less than the 32"Vizio, so I was able to fit it into an old entertainment center no problem.

My main complaint at the moment is about the fact that I am still unable to find the remote codes for this TV. If remote integration is your goal, Sylvania LC321SS9 may not be the right choice for you. I will, however, attempt to use a learning remote.