Plus Up On Your Ink

I use an inkjet printer at home, and often print anything and everything from color photos to CDs to just regular black and white documents. I go through a lot of ink cartridges of all colors! All this time I’ve been spending a fair amount of money on my printer’s manufacturer ink cartridges, however, now there’s another alternative that gives you the same quality with a lower price.

Mr. Ink Plus sells inkjet cartridges, laser toner, copier toner, thermal fax ribbons, and even dot matrix ribbons at up to 80% less than brand name cartridges. You must wonder how is that is possible, I know I did. Terrence Iwamoto, co-owner of Mr. Ink Plus, carries “compatible cartridges.” These are specially manufactured generic cartridges that are designed to meet or exceed the standards of brand name original equipment manufacturer (OEM) products. (Don’t get these mixed up with remanufactured cartridges, which are recycled, reprocessed, disassembled and refilled with ink or toner.)

The compatible cartridges are brand new, and I’ve seen for myself that the quality is first-rate. Mr. Ink Plus’ selection offers an excellent opportunity for you as a consumer, and the business user/buyer to save a good chunk of change on something you need to buy anyway. The use of generic replacement cartridges will NOT void the warranty on your printer.

The prices on the compatible cartridges vary, and are dependent on your equipment type. I can tell you that the black cartridge for my Epson R300 printer is $10.95 from Mr. Ink Plus, and from Epson directly, it would cost $17.09. Another printer I use at work is an HP LaserJet 4500. It’s $69.95 from Mr. Ink Plus and $113.00 from HP! You do the math.

“I’m here to help people,” Iwamoto says. “I’m not after people’s money. I just want to help them save money,” he humbly adds right after a customer purchased some cartridges, and commented how inexpensive everything was.

In addition to the affordable cartridges, Mr. Ink Plus carries a variety of continuous ink systems for inkjet printers. This is for the high volume user, such as a photographer that who would print hundreds of photographs, or if you just have the urge to print a lot of stuff.

Iwamoto also offers fundraising opportunities with Mr. Ink Plus. Geared towards church groups, schools or other non-profit organizations, $2.00 will be paid for each empty inkjet or toner cartridge. It will then be recycled, and you help can do your part to help save the environment.

Get inked up at Mr. Ink Plus, located at 670 Auahi Street, #A12. You can also visit the website at www.mrinkplus.com or call 526-2465 for a complete price list or more information.

Instant Big Screen Home Entertainment

I enjoy watching DVD movies on the big screen television that I have at
home, and in general, am satisfied with the way my home entertainment
system is setup. The problem is, it's stuck in my living room. Wouldn’t it be great if I could move the entire system to another room or even take it to a friend’s house? Well now it's possible.

The MovieTime DV10 Digital Projector, made by Optoma Technology, is a
pure digital DVD and DLP (digital light processing) projector all-in-one. It features an ultra bright, cinema-quality projection, a built-in DVD player and high performance speakers in a stylish, compact design. This projector has the advantage of optimized DVD viewing with guaranteed color accuracy and distortion-free pictures, since it reads the presets from the DVD itself and goes directly to the projected image. You also don't have to worry about getting confused on which connectors to use, cable matching or making sure you have the right cable length(s). You basically plug it in, pop a DVD in, and you're good to go.

MovieTime also comes with two five-watt speakers and a short throw lens
that lets you turn any room in the house into a personal screening room. It is High Definition (HDTV) compatible for widescreen cinema quality. If you don't want to use its integrated speakers, it can be connected externally to your optical audio output (such as a Dolby or DTS home theater surround sound) to give you a full surround sound experience.

The whole device weighs 7.8 pounds and offers a resolution of 854x480 pixels. If you have a wall big enough, you can make the screen size anywhere from 3 feet to 27.9 feet.

You can transform your living room into a professional grade cinema
with the MovieTime DV10 for about $1,500 from www.tigerdirect.com and
other various online retailers. It may sound a little pricey, but this is actually quite reasonable in comparison to a full-blown home theater. Popcorn not included.

A New iPod Shuffle

I already own an Apple iPod shuffle, as you may remember me writing about a few months ago, and it’s small size, sleek look and convenience are perfect for my needs. Well, Sony recently came out with an iPod shuffle contender, and for vanity’s sake, I might have to alternate my shuffle for one of these.

The eye-catching colors that Sony’s Network Walkman Digital Music Player 500 Series (NW-E505 and NW-E507) come in are brilliant. The NW-E505 is the 512MB version, and it can store about 345 songs, and comes in pink and blue. The NW-E507 (1GB version) holds about 695 songs, but only comes in silver.
You can’t help but be impressed when you see the sleek, almost futuristic body mixed with the mirrored plastic and the frosted metal colors. The pink one is the perfect addition to my purse and collection of other electronic toys.

Unlike an iPod shuffle with no display screen, the NW 500 series offers an attractive, bright three-line Organic Electroluminescence (OLED) display that lets you see the song title, song length, current time/date and battery indicator. You can even have it display it in different languages. In addition, you can control the bass and treble settings of the sound. It’s no five-band equalizer, but it does the trick for a little guy like that. The 500 series also includes an FM radio tuner so you can also listen to the radio once you go through your song collection or just want to hear what’s going on in the world. The tuner works easily with a turn of the control knob on the side. I’m fond of this radio feature because it’s something that none of my iPods have.

More eye-candy: while it plays music, instead of looking at your the three-line display, you can watch a graphical timer. While it’s in power save mode, the standard display disappears and little echo sound waves appear on the screen to indicate playback. The long-lasting battery life is 50 hours, so you don’t have to worry about charging it very often. If in case you do run out of juice, its Super Quick Charge feature will power you for three hours with a three-minute charge.

There are a few drawbacks. You can only sync your 500 series using Sony’s proprietary software called SonicStage, which is included with the purchase of the device. It is only functional on a PC, and no Mac version is available. Also, these are about $50 more than the iPod shuffles (512MB and 1GB, respectively) with the EW-505 at $149.95 and the NW-E507 at $199.95. Lastly, you have to use a USB cable to sync and charge your Sony, whereas the iPod shuffle plugs directly into your computer with its built-in USB plug (just a matter of convenience).

You can find Sony’s NW 500 series online at www.sonystyle.com.

The Mobile Executive

A couple of weeks ago I attended an event called “The Mobile Executive,” which was put on by Sprint Hawaii and elegantly held at the Mercedes-Benz dealership. This sneak preview affair allowed me to play with some new and upcoming technologies that Sprint has to offer.

The mobile executive is able to access their business information and have entertainment while on the go, all in one hand, connecting to content over a wireless network. He/she does this by using all-in-one devices – the convergence of the digital camera, PDA, e-mail access, television and mp3 player. The mobile executive is also able to do more while away from the office and be responsive to customers "real time" needs. There are always ongoing software upgrades for faster data, better capacity and improved applications.

Part of the mobile executive’s life is spent driving out on the road. Any car has the potential to become a part of the mobile lifestyle thanks to Bluetooth car kits. For those of you who want something a little more complicated than the plug-and-play Parrot kits I previously wrote about, but don’t have the patience or the know-how on installation, Hands-Free Hawaii will do it for you. There, the Bluetooth kits range in price from $179 for the Nokia CK-7W, or Motorola HF850 to $479 for the high-end HF Kit. Call Terence Yorga of Hands-Free Hawaii at 597-8008, and he will help you figure out your own customized Bluetooth car solution. Also keep in mind that utilizing your phone’s Bluetooth capability will also help you promote safe driving to other drivers on the road.

The devices of the mobile executive can benefit anyone, especially frequent travelers who need to stay in constant touch. To explore what Sprint has to offer, visit your nearest Sprint PCS store or log onto www.sprint.com.

A Virtual Puppy

I absolutely adore dogs and wish I had the space in my house to have one of my own (apologies to my already existing menagerie of a bird and two cats). I found the perfect solution to that until I buy a house with a big yard.

While I was at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3 Expo) recently, I had lots of fun playing with Nintendogs, one of Nintendo’s soon-to-be-released games. Mesmerized by the cuteness of these virtual dogs, the superior graphics, and the quality of the game itself, I’m sure I was really annoying the people waiting in line behind me. After the Nintendo employee finally kicked me off the console, I stood in line all over again just to play it again.

Nintendogs offers you a choice of 15 of the most popular dog breeds, including Labradors, Beagles, Chihuahuas, Poodles and Welsh Corgis. Each one has its own unique personality and variations in coloration and gender. Using the Nintendo DS’ touch screen and microphone, you care for and train your pup. It allows you to pet your puppy, train it with personalized voice commands, bathe it when it gets dirty, and acquire and play with more than 100 items. These include tennis balls, soccer balls, frisbees, jump ropes, clothing accessories and more.

As you go on in the game, train your pups well and compete in obedience and agility competitions. If you do well, win cash to buy supplies and even more pups. In addition, you can socialize your doggies by walking them around the town to meet other neighborhood dogs and possibly find new toys. These trips are good training to build stamina to prepare for those valuable competitions. The stamina will increase over time, allowing you to have your dogs explore farther and farther.

Nintendogs also works wirelessly, allowing you to interact with other Nintendogs users within range. Your DS can be programmed to bark when another puppy is near.

Last month in Japan, the Nintendogs release was responsible for single-handedly tripling the sales of Nintendo DS systems. It may just do the same here. I currently don’t own a DS yet, but I sure will before next month, as I highly anticipate Nintendogs’ release on August 22. The game is rated E for Everyone and will cost about $50 at your nearest video game retailer. There are three different Nintendogs packages to choose from, each with varying breeds. Check out www.nintendo.com to see demos of the game.

Create Your Own Website

Some you may have seen my website that I use to post my stories (www.click-chick.com). By the looks of it, it’s actually a blog, but I don’t use it for that purpose. I’ve built other websites before, however, I find this the easiest to update and maintain. I’ve received quite a few questions, comments and compliments about my Click Chick website and wanted to share with everyone how easy it is to create a site of your own.

But, before I go any further, let me explain what a blog is, as some of may have heard of it, but not necessarily know what it is. The word blog is derived from web log – a personal diary, memos to the world, your own breaking news outlet . . . basically whatever you want it to be. It’s a website you use to post whatever you want (including pictures) so visitors can read what’s new with you. Since blogs started, they’ve reshaped the web and enabled millions of people to have their own voice on the web.

There are several different ways to create your own blog website, and various services you can use to start one. My favorite, and what I use is Blogger, which is 100% free and easy to use. First you need a web domain name, easily and inexpensively done by going to www.godaddy.com (prices vary based on length of time you want to keep it, but you can get a domain for as low as $6.95).

After your domain name is setup, go to the Blogger site and follow the easy to understand directions on how to set your website up. First you setup an account, name your blog site and finally choose from one the many templates to suit your own style. You’re now ready to post your first thoughts and photos. As I mentioned earlier, this free service is also great if you just want your own website to promote your work, or simply you as a person.

Blogger was created by a small San Francisco company during 1999, in the midst of the dot-com boom. In 2002, Google bought Blogger in order to help people have their own voice on the web. To create your own web voice, checkout www.blogger.com.

Watch Your Television From Anywhere

I knew this day would come eventually. Somebody finally came out with a box that allows you to watch your television from literally anywhere, as long as you have a high-speed Internet connection.

Sling Media, Inc. a digital lifestyle electronics company, has made this possible with its latest innovation called the Slingbox Personal Broadcaster. As long as you have a PC that runs on Windows XP (unfortunately not available on any other software platform yet), it gives you access anytime, anywhere, to your own living room television.

The Slingbox works by redirecting or “placeshifting” a single live television stream from a cable box, satellite receiver, or personal video recorder (PVR), such as a TiVo, to your Internet-connected PC located anywhere you are through your home network router. It physically fits right into your existing television and network infrastructure in four easy-to-follow steps. Once everything is plugged in, it’s controlled with SlingPlayer.

SlingPlayer encompasses several features: SlingStream, SlingRemote and SlingBar. SlingStream is a streaming technology designed to optimize playback by monitoring your connection speed and adjusts the video compression to match the available network bandwidth. SlingRemote is a virtual remote control that displays the buttons found on the remote control of the source connected to your Slingbox. If a PVR is connected, you can use it to play your recorded programs and control just about everything, even schedule programs to record. The SlingBar provides a convenient way to watch television while simultaneously using your computer for other functions.

The Slingbox is definitely a groundbreaking piece of equipment that will change the way you watch television. It’s perfect for any TV or sports junkie and anyone who travels a lot. Some drawbacks are that there is no wireless support, and it monopolizes the device that’s attached, it may not have necessary infrared codes to fully operate your cable box and the fact that it only works with Windows XP so far.

In the near future, the SlingPlayer software will be available for Macintosh, select PDAs and smart phones. Take control of your TV and get a Slingbox of your own for $249.99 at CompUSA or www.compusa.com.

Solar Power Keeps The Music Going

I’m always out on the road, and rarely near a power outlet unless I’m at home or sometimes at work. I found a solar charger that’s perfect with Hawaii’s sunny skies to charge my iPod. The Better Energy Systems Solio allows me do my part in saving the planet by harnessing solar power to recharge my toys.

It’s so small, and so convenient, it fits right into my purse. I think I’ll take it with me next time I travel or go to the beach. It’s also ideal for long hikes or even boating. The Solio is weatherproof and weights 5.8 ounces. Its unique fan blade design allows it to achieve maximum solar area when in use. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that well when it gets cloudy or if you’re in the shade. You need direct, bright sunlight in order for it to work properly. When there’s no sunlight available, you can recharge its internal battery by plugging it in to an AC outlet. Otherwise, it takes anywhere from six to nine hours to fully recharge with the sun’s power.

Solio has a convenient interchangeable adapter system that allows you to charge a whole array of mobile devices, including an array of cellular phones, PDAs and mp3 digital music players. but you need to buy each one separately. There’s even an adapter available for a Nintendo Game Boy. For you Mac fans, its white shell will match with your white iPod, white computer and even your white socks if you’re wearing any.

The Solio has a handy hole in the middle, the perfect size for a pen or pencil, and makes it easy to balance it so you can face it towards the sun off your balcony or car’s dashboard. It looks cool, and it helps the environment. The Solio is the most effective and compact charger out there on the market with its own fully integrated lithium ion battery. It got four out of five stars on a Macworld review. Since Macworld is a big authority on products such as this, that’s outstanding!

Get access to your own personal solar power supply at www.solio.com for $99.99. In addition, each adapter is $19.99.