Category Archives: Product Reviews

I think therefore I buy. Verdict and justification of my purchase

Product Reviews

Google Voice

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When I went down to San Francisco this time, the first thing I did was setting up Google Voice. There are some other nice features of Google Voice, such as a US phone number, a voice mail box with transcribing service, play back voice mail in gmail, etc, but the crown jewel is Google Voice Callback. With a Google voice number and using Google Voice Callback, now I can make free long distance call to any US and Canada number directly from my Canadian cell phone.

The setup is a bit long, but there are many guides out there teach you how to set it up and they are easy to fllow. First you need a US IP address to get a Google Voice phone number. There is a loop hole in Google Voice that it recognize 403 (area code of Calgary) as a US number. The next step is setting up a free 403 number with Free Phone Line. Since Alberta has introduced a new area code 587, it takes many tries to get a 403 phone number. Be patient, keep trying and eventually you will come across one. Once I have a 403 number, I can forward it to any Canada phone number. The final step is verify and link up the 403 number in Google Voice. Now the whole set up is done.

Google Voice Callback is an Android application that use data network to initiate the call, it will only use a few kilo-bytes per call. The app tells the Google Voice server what phone number you would like to call, then Google Voice complete the call by calling both the 403 number, which is forwarded to my cell, and the destination number. Since I have unlimited incoming minutes, using Google Voice to make long distance calls are essentially free.

I also set up a Toronto 647 phone number as well, so my parents can call my cell phone directly without paying long distance charge. Looking at the standard long distance charge from Rogers, it is really a rip off, comparing to the free offering from Google.

Product Reviews

Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse

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My old laptop mouse is falling a part, so I need a new one. A mouse is one small gadget that I use many hours a day and it is not very expensive. I want to buy the best mouse I can find. I have been a fans of Microsoft mouse for many years and actually Microsoft mouse is one of the few Microsoft products that does not suck.

The Arc Touch Mouse is the flagship laptop mouse from Microsoft. There are two unique feature about this mouse. First, it does not have a physical scroll wheel, it has a small touch pad instead. The touch pad supports normal scrolling with sliding, and support page up, page down and middle button with tapping. It has vibration feedback to mimic the sense of a real scroll wheel. No mechanical part means this mouse should be more reliable. It was the the scroll wheel of my old laptop mouse that makes me get a new one. Second, it looks cool and it is easy to put away. I can literally flatten the mouse and put it into my computer bag. The coolness factor of this mouse makes a good conversation starter in meetings. Almost everyone notice I got a new mouse when I walk into the meetings. The curve shape is pretty comfortable and the blue laser tracking is more accurate, but that’s just standard feature of any mouse nowadays.

One down side of this mouse is a narrower than my old mouse, but turns out to be a blessing in disguise. The mouse surface does not fit three fingers. I can’t use my middle finger for scrolling and ring finger for right click. I have to change my habit to use middle finger for both actions. Since the touch pad is flat, I don’t have any problem shifting the middle finger left any right, unlike a scroll wheel. When I was using three fingers, I have to move the mouse with my little finger and that cause stress to my wrist tendon. Now I only use two fingers to control the buttons and frees up my ring finger to hold the mouse, it puts less stress on my wrist tendon since the ring finger is stronger than the little finger.

This mouse is a bit pricy, even when it is on sales, it still double the price of a normal wireless laptop mouse. In my opinion, this mouse worth the extra $25. It is one of the best mouses I have used.

Product Reviews

Palladium Combat Boots

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I like wearing boots. In fact I only wear two pairs of shoes 99% of time in the past 7-8 years, a Nike ACG leather hiking boat for the winter and a Converse All Star hi-top canvas boot for the summer. I had went through 6 pairs of Nike and 4 pairs of Converse and I just keep buying a new after the old one is worn. However Nike has discontinued the ACG series so I need to find a replacement. One day I came across a review of Palladium Combat Boots on Cool Tools and at once I knew it is the boots I am looking for.

Palladium Boots is both functional and fashionable. Their boots are famous for being worn by the French Foreign Legion and Isreali Army. The boots are also featured in various movies such as Will Smith’s “I am Legend”, worn by Hollywood stars and featuring in fashion magazines. I couldn’t find any stores in Vancouver carrying Palladium boots and I am hesitate order one from internet. After all, you can’t buy a pair of shoes without trying first. I bought my pairs of Palladium boot in Hong Kong at the Palladium store at The One in Tsim Sha Tsui, the only place that sells Palladium boots in Hong Kong

There are two unique features I like about the boots over Converse boots. The sole and the toe of the boot is mounted in one piece, this gives better protection of your toes and make the tip of the shoes more durable. There are extra support at the heel of the boot to maintain the shape of the back of the boot. Now I am totally hooked to the comfort and coolness of Palladium boots. I will still have only two pairs of shoes, but one will be Palladium canvas boots for the summer and the other one will be Palladium leather boots for the winter.

Product Reviews

HydroRight Dual-Flush

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The chain connecting the toilet handle to the flapper is broken, I set out to Canadian Tire to buy a replacement chain. Instead of buying a $2 little chain, I end up buying the HydroRigth Dual-Flush system to retrofit my ordinarily toilet to a dual flush toilet. A dual flush toilet save water by adjusting the water flow depending on your needs. You don’t need a full tank of water if there is only pee in the toilet.

The installation is really easy. As the box claim, no tool is required. Just take out the old drop handle and flapper, drop in the new flush system and you are done. The box claims it can be installed in 10 minutes, but it took me almost 30 minutes to adjust the optimal water level for half flush and full flush. The mechanics of the dual-flush system is pretty smart. The full flush operation is pretty much the same as lifting up an old fashion flapper. The trick is on the half flush operation. It has an internal adjustable buoyant control for the half flush operation, when the water level drops below the buoyant, it will close the flapper automatically.

The dual flush system saves half tank of water for every half flush, that adds up to lots of water saving over a year. With the new dual flush toilet installed, I am proud of having a green and environmental friendly life style by using water more efficiently..

Product Reviews

Mountek MK5000 CD Slot Mount

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After I bought my Android smart phone, it is naturally that I am going to play mp3 and navigate with the built-in GPS when I am driving. Therefore I need to buy a phone mount to hold the smart phone inside the car. There are only two types of phone mount in the market, suction cup that sticks to the wind shield or flimsy clips that clips on to the air ventilation. I am not happy with both solutions, the former one blocks my view and the later one blocks the wind.

I did some search on eBay and Google and come across this one of its kind phone mount, the Mountek MK5000 that mounts on the CD slot. Since I no longer use the CD player, the space in front of CD player is pretty useless. It is the perfect place to mount my smart phone. It does not block anything other than the useless CD player. The MK5000 phone mount is very sturdy, it has an adjustable blade than I can slide inside the CD slot and lock it tight. The mount support vertical and horizontal rotation for easy screen rotation. It has spring loaded adjustable arms that fits devices of different size.

I have been using the mount for a couple of months and it works very well. Every day when I hop into my car, I place my smart phone onto the mount. The only disadvantage of the mount is its price. A cheap made-in-China phone mount costs less than $10, sometimes you can even get one as low as $5. The Mountek MK5000 is currently selling for $20 at eBay. Although it is more expensive, the design and the quality of the product worth the premiums price.