Some of you know how much of a fan I am of my Flip Mino. I purchased my first Flip Mino video camera back in July. Check out my unboxing and review post of the original Flip Mino. Unfortunately I have not gotten a chance to explore the new Flip Mino HD in person, but I have been reading many rave reviews.

The new Flip Mino HD has a couple of new feature but overall is not that different from the original Flip Mino. It is the same size as the Flip Mino, the same design, the same size LCD display and button layout. All of the new features in the camera are directly related to the addition of HD capabilities. The sounds quality on the HD is pretty much the same as the original Mino, which is great. That is one of the things I really like about the Mino series, is the wonderful audio quality.

The Video

A new resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels which is 720 pixel HD quality. Now, keep in mind that HD from this little camera is not going to be like watching a Blu Ray. Yes, it is HD but it is very highly compressed to allow for maximum recording length on the built in 4GB of memory. It is compressed with H.264 video compression and AAC audio compression which results in a MP4 file format.

I want to make sure it is clear, that this video is HD, but not high quality HD. Yes, I am sure it looks good, but many people don’t understand the concept of being true uncompressed HD and highly compressed HD.

I have watched multiple videos shot on the HD Mino, and it is very good quality for the size of the camera. If I was not so strapped for cash (See Why Here) I would defiantly be purchasing one.

Amazon is known for offering great deals on the Flip cameras, so make sure you keep and eye on the Amazon page for this product. I bought my original Mino on Amazon for $50 less then anywhere else. Here is the product page: Flip Video MinoHD Camcorder, 60 Minutes (Black)

Being the new owner of a solid aluminum body Macbook Pro, I wanted to give a first hand opinion of what to love about the new Apple laptops, and what to hate about them. I will start with the bad news first.

What to Hate About the New Apple Laptops

1. Leading off my list is how the glossy only option is available on both the Macbook and the Macbook Pro. Many people prefer a matte screen option, especially on the Pro models. Matte screens offer truer colors. This is very important to designers and photographers as they need to see true shades of colors for their work. I came from a matte screen model to a glossy screen model expecting to have issues, but I am really surprised at how much it is not a factor for me.
2. Number 2 on my list is one that has not been talked about much. I have noticed that the new Macbook Pro sound quality on the built-in speakers is not near the quality it was on the previous model. What I believe is the problem is that the holes in the speaker greats on the new model are much smaller then the last model. This is causing flat sounding audio.
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After a long search, I have found the perfect external hard drive for a laptop only owner. With that being said, I would like to introduce you to the Newer Technology Mini Stack v3 External hard drive. This little external hard drive offers plenty of additional features beyond just being an external hard drive.

Specifications

Hard Drive: 750GB Bootable, 7200 RPM, 32MB Cache
Dimensions: 6.5″ x 6.5″ x 1.5″
Bridge Chipset: Oxford OXUF924DSb
Interface Ports: 1 x eSATA, 2 x Firewire 800, 1 x Firewire 400, 3 x USB 2.0/1.0

Thoughts

The Mini Stack v3 is an external hard drive with a built in powered USB/Firewire hub. It offers 3 USB 2.0/1.0, 1 Firewire 400, 2 Firewire 800, and 1 eSATA ports. I searched on google for over a week looking for a external hard drive solution that has a built in powered hub. When I stumbled upon this bad boy, I was so happy to see that not only did it have a USB hub built in, but it also had firewire and eSATA ports built in.

OK, so I was not planning to purchase an iPhone, but about 3 weeks ago I was told that my company was taking away our Blackberrys. They were scheduled to shut them off on August 1st, and I found out it was for sure on July 24th. Well, that didn’t leave me much time to get a new phone so I rushed over to the AT&T store to order a 16GB Black iPhone. I ordered it in about 15 minutes. The store clerk said 5 to 7 days arrival, so I was not to worried that it would make it to me by August 1st.

I started reading up on Mac Rumors and the Mac Forums only to find that people were seeing 2 to 3 week waits on 16GB iPhone orders. This got me worried so on July 29th, I woke up at 6 A.M. to go stand in line at the Apple store. I didn’t want to wait in line, but at this point I had no choice. Got in the line at 7:15 A.M. to find about 30 people in line ahead of me. At 8 A.M. the store opened and around 8:30 A.M. I was given my “Chocolate Factory Gold Ticket.” At this point I could have left and came back to the store later that day to pick it up but I didn’t have to be to work till 10 A.M. and I worked about .5 miles away. So I waited and waited and waited. 10 A.M. comes and goes, I am about 5th in line so I am just waiting. After I call into work and say I am stuck in traffic, I finally get into purchase my iPhone at about 10:15 A.M. I was a new AT&T customer and I was NOT porting a number so I figured the activation process would be easy. Well it was, it took about 15 Minutes and I was on my way with a working iPhone.

As for my AT&T order, I called and was told I had to wait till the iPhone was received in store to cancel the order. So I waited and waited. Well today, August 5th, I finally got a email that the iPhone was in store. I went to the store, and canceled my order. Oh, and it took about 25 minutes to cancel the order which is CRAP!

OK, so I have been a full week with my new iPhone. Let me remind you that I never even touched a 2G iPhone. I did have a iPod Touch that came with my new MBP. Yea, so let me just say:

A couple of days ago, I got my hands on a Flip Mino video recorder. The Flip is by a company called Pure Digital. This model, the Mino, is the 3rd generation of the Flip camera family. I did an unboxing, put up some sample videos to show the quality, as well as a text review. I am having some issues getting my videos posted in 100% original quality, so these might not show the true quality.

UnBoxing:

Pure Digital has defiantly taken notes from Apple on packaging. Below are some photos from the unboxing of the Flip Mino:

I purchased a Logitech Harmony One remote about 5 months ago, and I am finally ready to give my review of it. The retail on this bad boy is $249.00. Amazon currently has the Harmony One for $179.99. I really wanted to give myself plenty of time with the remote before I reviewed it so I can give a thorough and accurate review.

Design

The design of the Harmony One is amazing. It is designed to fit very comfortably in the palm of you hand. Along with great ergonomics, but also has a rubber back for easy gripping. Another great design aspect of the Harmony One is a motion sensor inside so when you pick it up it lights up, but if you have it sitting on a table, the lights shutoff to conserve battery. I find this very useful when channel surfing late at night with the lights off. The button design is good. After just a few short days I found myself very easily finding the buttons with out having to look at the remote. One issue I have with the design, is the hard plastic buttons that make a very minor click noise when pushed. I have always been a fan of the Tivo controller with rubber buttons, but this is more a personal preference then a design flaw.

So of you might have heard from my tweets, or my status updates on various sites, that I recently bought a Macbook Pro. Below is a list of the specs in the model I purchased:

• 15.4 inch Matte Screen
• 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2GB Memory
• 200GB Hard Drive
• Double-layer SuperDrive
• NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB

I purchased it from the Apple Store at Lenox Mall in Atlanta, Georgia. I originally went into the store expecting to buy a 2.5GHz/250GB/Glossy model, but the lady in the store talked some sense into me! I decided to go for the smaller processor because of the $400.00 difference, I just didn’t see it being justified, and also I was coming for a 1.8GHz windows machine, so I figured 2.4GHz was plenty of an upgrade. I also changed my mind on the Glossy/Matte because of the need for real colors in my designs and photography. I am very surprised at how well I like the Matte, because my old laptop was Glossy.

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A couple of weeks ago, I dropped the ball and entered the world of DSLR photography. My weapon of choice, the Nikon D40, a reasonably priced professional grade camera. I did not want to post a review right when I got it, so I opted to use the crap out of it for a few weeks then review it. Below is my unboxing video which I posted to my YouTube account, but never posted on the site:

I have had the camera for 13 days and I have taken over 1200 pictures. Let me first offer this disclaimer, I am a BEGINNER when it comes to photography. I am not offering photography advice just yet. This is a review of the camera!

I shopped around pretty good looking at Nikon and Canon models. I choose the Nikon D40 for 2 main reasons:

1. I could not find a bad review about this product. I read probably close to 100 reviews and all of them were positive. Professionals and amateurs all said it is an amazing camera.
2. The second reason was price! This camera was about $100 to $200 cheaper then any other DSLR camera on the market.