Kevin always likes to talk about better living through chemistry, but for me it’s all about better living through technology. Here are some products that are making my life better right now:
- Tassimo: Despite having worked as a barista during high school and college, it took me until 2005 (during a trip to Italy) to really develop a taste for coffee. I was fearful of spending all my money at Starbucks until I learned about Tassimo, and heard its praises sung by a few coffee lovers. Requiring very little effort on my part, this system makes excellent coffee drinks (I especially enjoy the Gevalia Lattes) as well as hot chocolate and tea. Our local Target recently started selling the T-Discs, but I get mine direct from the manufacturer once a month via auto-replenishment (requiring even less work on my part!). It’s convenient and it’s cheap. Mmmmmm.
- SlingBox: I signed up for NHL Center Ice and I accepted a new job that will require me to travel, all on the same day. How would I get to watch my games while on the road? I’d had my eye on the SlingBox since before last Xmas and decided to give the new Pro edition a whirl. With the ability to connect four devices, I can watch regular cable, digital and HD cable, or whatever’s on the DVD/VHS. How well does it work? Well, Kevin’s on the other side of the globe right now, and he and I watched the Flyers game the other night together. What a way to keep the family together!
- Microsoft OneNote: Despite being a total technology nerd, I love paper. Whenever I have to think something through, I grab a stack of paper and pens write down all of my thoughts. I’m also big on making lists. I carry a little notebook wherever I go, and it’s filled with random thoughts, reminders, quotations, and phone numbers. Now I have a digital notebook that allows me to organize my notes just as I would on paper. I can copy and paste just about any data from any program into OneNote. Checklists, tabbed sections… I can do it all, and I save trees at the same time.
Now all I really need is a high-resolution widescreen tablet PC to replace my high-res widescreen laptop and my slate-model tablet PC. I’m talking about something like the Toshiba Tecra M7, but with a normal keyboard layout. (Who the heck thought that moving the Windows key was a good idea?!?) I don’t care how big the thing is or how much it weighs. I just need a workstation replacement that has tablet functionality, for when my hand injury acts up (which it does frequently) and I can’t use the touchpad. It would also be handy on all those flights, when the person in front of me fully reclines and I can’t keep the laptop open more than 4 or 5 inches. Dammit, Dell, make me a tablet PC! NOW!
