It’s been quite the chatter around the geek world the past few days. Are the Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates commercials witty and geek history in the making or are they totally lame? First I will put up my tomato shield, should you disagree with my stance and throw gross slimy things at me.

I side with the totally lame voters. I was completely unimpressed the first time I saw the commercial, and even less impressed the second time I saw it. In fact it becomes more lame every time I see it during a show. Then again, I’m not much of a fan of Gates or Seinfeld, so maybe it’s just the combination that is throwing me off.

As if one lame unimpressive commercial wasn’t enough there is a second installment. This one is funnier than the first one, but I still didn’t find it roll out in the aisles funny or even remotely great.

The whole we’re rich people trying to connect with the real world just doesn’t seem funny to me. I don’t know if it’s my family side that finds this commercial super annoying…. wait, no it’s my “normal real person” side. :eyeroll:

Honestly, I just don’t even understand what these commercials even have to do with Windows?  It seems more like Bill Gates is bored and just decided to shoot some commercials of himself.  Time for Bill Gates to take some of that huge pile of cash and invest in a new marketing team perhaps. I think after watching these commercials I actually feel more pushed towards getting a MAC. I do love my HP computers, but darn that Windows.

So, geek and gadget world… tell me, what are your thoughts on these two unusual commercials?

Good morning, sunshine! I started Christmas shopping this week for my four boys. A big thing on my list is MP3 players.

First, a quick back story for you. My oldest two sons have iPods that we picked up as “refurbished,” basically they were as is with no warranty. I won’t make that mistake ever again. They are both pretty much dead in the water and if I send them back to Apple to get fixed they’ll charge me the cost of a new iPod, so what’s the point in repair, right?

It left me with a bit of a predicament. They really enjoyed having them while they lasted, but they were more hassle than they were worth. My husband’s iPod, which I bought straight from Apple brand new doesn’t have any problems, but these refurbished 2nd generation models just don’t cut it. They freeze, they erase themselves, and one of them refuses to be turned off, it’s just on 24 hours a day, so of course needs charged constantly.

So, my shopping spree to replace these lovely little things began. I figured I would pick up iPod shuffles to replace them. Then my 10 year old said magical words to me, “Mom, I don’t care if it’s an iPod or not, I just want music.” Dang, I love that kid.

His biggest complaint about his iPod, other than freezing screen, was that it didn’t have an FM radio to listen to. I thought about getting him just a small am/fm radio that he could stick in his backpack and listen to, but that just wouldn’t be as much fun if he couldn’t add his own music to it as well. After all, I’ve grown pretty fond of him cleaning his room and singing Kidz Bop songs on the weekends.

The Active Range Sport MP3 Player from Phillips solves a lot of that problem for me. And it comes in orange, which just happens to be Luke’s favorite color on the planet. It’s only 1GB, which is still a lot of songs. Who needs 8GB anyway? I’ll admit here that I’d like to see it be at least 2GB, because the boys do like to put audio books on their players, and the Harry Potter books are pretty big files. I don’t think those would fit onto 1GB. But, in defense of the player it does have a mini SD card slot for memory expansion, which is quite helpful.

I found the shape of this player quite intriguing, it’s round unlike the usual MP3 players that are square, rectangular, and pretty much any shape except for round. It also has a built in stop watch for those early morning runs, making it a little more sport than usual as well. So far there are some interesting features on this little wonder.

My favorite feature is still the FM tuner that’s built into the player. Digital files and a radio all in one little round piece of orange technology. However, with all this great stuff happening I found it odd that it runs on 1 AAA battery. I don’t know if that’s because of the FM tuner being part of it, or if there’s some other reason for it. I’m not sure how that all works inside, but it definitely has my attention.

I promised to bring some of the best checkpoint friendly laptop bags to get through the airport fast with your technology. We’ve got an entire category full of checkpoint friendly bags here at Pricegrabber now, so be sure to check that out for different sizes and styles.

Today’s pick for Sunday’s Bag is from Targus, they seem to be more on top of the checkpoint friendly than some other lines. The Jackie Ladies Leather Tote has all the style of a purse with all the function you want in a laptop bag. It’s easy to carry and has a padded compartment for your notebook computer.

This little leather bag will hold up to a 15 inch widescreen laptop. Next weekend I’ll seek out something checkpoint friendly and pretty for those of you with the big 17 inchers out there. And then after that I think we’ll look into some cool bags for the new mini style notebook computers. If you have a special technology carrying need that you’re having difficulty filling leave me a comment and see what I can find for you.

I know it can be hard to find just the right bag to carry your stuff in. I remember when I first got my laptop, it seems like forever ago, and they had just started making the widescreen more common. I had a heck of a time finding one that my laptop fit into. In fact, it came with a free black leather laptop bag packaged with it …. and it was too small, because it was designed for a regular width screen. It was miserable that first few weeks to have my notebook and not be able to take it anywhere because I didn’t have a proper bag for it!

Storms happen everywhere, some places more than others.  Here I sit on the east coast of Virginia today after getting some lovely gifts from Tropical Storm Hannah and residents preparing for Hurricane Ike to head this way soon as well.  These are the things that made me think of today’s topic, surge protectors for your computers and electronics.

Powering down is not enough, lightning can still come through your powerlines and zap your precious technology to bits.   Paying a few extra dollars for a good surge protector is vital to protecting your computer, your television and just about anything you have plugged in on an ongoing basis.

If the power goes out your line can become vulnerable, some surge protectors have backup protection, but if the power in your home is out I recommend unplugging the computer.   You don’t want lightning coming through for a visit.  I’ve actually seen this happe.  A few years back my brother in law was sitting in his living room during a storm, the dogs were laying on the floor, and his daughter was playing quietly on the other side of the room.

The computer was powered down, but lightning came rushing through the lines and into the computer and it literally blew up.  Not just fried it quietly, it literally madea loud bang, caught on fire briefly, and shook the whole desk, nearly shook the entire house actually.  It was like something you’d see in a cheesy movie, but it was definitely no movie set.

He tried to see if any parts could be salvaged, but the computer was toast.  The hard drive was irrepairable and all the data lost.  (Should I reming everyone about data backups?)  The only solution was to get a completely new computer.  The whole shebang, monitor, PC, keyboard, it was all literally fried.

My computer isn’t the only thing I have on a surge protector.  I have computer specified power protection strips for my desktop, one that I keep in my bag for my laptop, one behind the chair I use at home with the laptop, one for television/cable box/DVD player, and one for my cordless phone.  If it runs on electricity it gets protected.

So, how protected is your technology?  If you’re running your computer without any power protection right now, I encourage you to take care of that today.  Spend a few dollars now rather than have to replace your computer system later.  You won’t be sorry.

I hope that everyone had a safe and good Labor Day weekend. I was unable to get online to write Monday and Tuesday, so I’ve missed you all. It’s back to school here in our household, and that meant shopping, and more shopping, and as the class teachers send home extra more detailed supply lists for classes like science and math there will be even more shopping still.

I wanted to share with you one of the more fun and interesting things I found while shopping. Of course this cute fellow resides on my desk and not in any of the boy’s backpacks. He’s a little too pink for them. There was a puppy version, but he was purple and they all passed on him as well. I am tempted to go pick up the puppy stapler to keep my kitty stapler company though, just because they are such a cute pair.

My cute feline friend here is a staple free stapler. I love these things. I generally buy my boy’s teachers each a staple-free stapler of some sort as a teacher gift every year. I’m thinking this year they will all be getting these adorable versions instead of the usual plain blue, red, or green ones that I’ve found for them in the past.

If you’ve never used a staple free stapler before, I highly recommend them. They are much easier to use, and they join the paper just as sturdily as a standard stapler. As an added bonus they take up less desk space, and you don’t have to keep those pesky metal staples in your desk drawer either.

We’ve been going over some fun and easy ways to make your cellphone stand out from the crowd. This is actually one of my favorite ways to do add some pizazz to anything. I suppose I’m a kid at heart that way. I’m talking about stickers of course.

I was one of those kids with tons of sticker albums full of different kinds of stickers. Glittery stickers, scratch and sniff stickers that were supposed to be different scents even though they all smelled like a mix of old bubble gum and plastic, and of course puffy stickers were like gold! Then there was the ever rare gel gooey full of stuff stickers. No one knew what was really inside those shimmer globs that reminded you of miniature lava lamps, and it’s probably better not to know.

For your cell phone you’ll want something a little more grown up …. unless you’re young at heart and want fairies and unicorns stuck all over everything. Or maybe you’re a guy and you don’t want anything purple or puffy any where near your cellphone. I would suggest getting the rhinestone stickers.

They’re not really “stickers” in the sense that you might think. They’re more like tattoos for your stuff. You can get them in designs, shapes, names, letters, monograms or you can get a plain sheet of single rhinestones and make your own creation. Use your imagination.

Having your name studded out on your cellphone should definitely eliminate any confusion at work. Unless of course your name is Jennifer and you work with three other girls named Jennifer.

Initials are always a good option

Adding a cellphone charm is one of the fun and easy ways to inexpensively make your cellphone stand out from the crowd. You can get something cute and fun like this dragonfly and flower cell charm, or you can go a little bolder and get some big bling on your phone.

Styles range from handmade beaded charms, knitted tassels, gemstone charms, initial charms, and even photo charms. It’s basically just jewelry for your cellphone. But it doesn’t just look pretty, it can be quite functional. We were discussing in a previous post how it can often be difficult to distinguish your phones from friends and coworkers when you have the same model of phone.

Adding a charm can help with this in a flash. You can even get a few charms and change them around just like you would your earrings to match your mood or outfit. Some people have more two or three charms on their cellphone for even more individuality. Personally I wouldn’t go with more than two, because they can get in the way sometimes depending on how long they are.

Cellphones come in a much bigger selection of styles and colors than before, but sometimes you just need that little extra. One of the things you can do to jazz up your cell phone to match your unique style is to add a faceplate. It’s quick, easy, painless and inexpensive to do.

Most faceplates just snap on, so you can actually grab a few and change them around now and then to match your mood, or your wardrobe, for the day! A lot of the more popular cellphones will have more faceplate choices for you too. I found a lot Motorola V3 Faceplates in particular. These just pop right on and cost about 10 dollars or less on average.

And those were just a few of the fun cell phone faceplates that I found. I think I’m actually going to get the paw print one for my mom as a gift, she is obsessed with her doggies and I think she’ll like it. Her Razr is pink, but she was complaining that just about everyone she works with has a pink cell phone too, so it’s not really that unique. Set it down on a table next to someone else’s phone and it’s just a phone mix-up waiting to happen. She does have a cute little cell phone charm, but those are a topic for another day. Maybe tomorrow we’ll get into charms and cell phone bling!

A flash drive is a necessity for many of us. I actually have three that I use for work myself, and my kids each have their own that they use to bring assignments home from school on. It’s one of the most useful things you’ll ever buy in addition to your computer.

This particular flash drive from SanDisk is 8GB, so there’s plenty of room for all your files. The titanium casing not only looks great, but it’s crush-resistant to over 2,000 pounds! Having had not just one, but two of my previous flash drives get broken and losing all those files, I can tell you that having a crushproof flash drive is a fantastic feature.

If 8GB is too much for you, you can get the same great features in the 4GB titanium flash drive from SanDisk. Both sizes are crush-resistant and come with SanDisk’s popular U3 smart technology, making them easy to use for managing all your files and programs. You can even use U3 to take your internet bookmarks with you. In addition to the many included features of U3 smart technology, you can go online and download add ons to make your flash drive work even smarter for you.

I think I may have found new love for the backpack style laptop bags. This particular laptop bag is from Dakine, and when they make a bag they really make a bag. Not only does this bag look great, it is full of function.

The Dakine Eve Laptop Bag features wide sturdy straps and plenty of room for all your tech. You can carry your laptop, your camera, and put your cell phone or BlackBerry in the hidden but easy to reach cell phone pocket at the top of the bag. There’s plenty of space left over for all your chargers, adapters, headphones, and cords. And the insulated cooler pocket is great for packing a mid-afternoon snack and a side pocket for a nice cold bottle of water.

* Contoured shoulder strap designed specifically to fit girl’s frame
* Padded laptop sleeve
* Fleece lined sunglasses pocket
* Cellphone, MP3 and organizer pockets
* Insulated cooler pocket
* Side water bottle pockets
* Max Laptop Size: 15″ x 11″ x 1.5″

This laptop bag may just replace every bag I own. It will hold everything that is currently in my purse, laptop bag, and camera bag all in one easy to carry bag that looks fabulous. Hey, get your own.