I’m debating if I should pick up some of this Obama gear, to sport it before the primary.  Where’s your Punahou pride

Wow they really found a character for this one.

I’m a gadget freak, and as such i waste a lot of money on some crap electronics.  SushiAttack can attest to this.  Not so with the Plantronics Pulsar 590A headset I just got however, these things are cool and super valuable.

The Pulsar 590A is an actual headset, not just a one-ear bluetooth earpiece.  This means you can use it both for talking on a phone as well as listening to stereo music - all handsfree, cords free, etc.

There are a number of possible configurations with this device.  First, you can use it with the included bluetooth dongle, with fits in any 3.5mm jack.  This means you can plug it into an ipod, CD-player, walkman, etc. - anything with your standard 3.5mm jack, and have audio transmitted wireless via bluetooth to the headset.

Very cool.

I use this feature at home late at night when I don’t want to disturb my bitch-ass neighbors below.  I can plug it into my TV, computer and stereo system, while still walking around the house unimpeded by wires.

But there’s more!!!

The Pulsars also work as a bluetooth headset.  There is an extendable boom mic that you speak into, as well as stereo sound that makes calls really easy to hear.  This extendable boom mic is a great feature, because a lot of other bluetooth headphones out there have a separate mic attachment that you need to carry with you.  With the Pulsars, the mic is always there, you just need to pull it out.  Sound quality is decent.  Not great, but certainly in line with other bluetooth headsets out there.  It’s also a bit hard to pull out the boom mic - it’s stuck in there pretty good, but if you do lose it Plantronics includes an extra one for you in the package.

Additionally, if your phone supports bluetooth stereo, you can use the Pulsars to listen to music.  My phone does, and I’ve been walking around downtown during lunch with these things on, listening to music I have on my phone - all wirelessly!  Keep in mind that not all bluetooth phones support stereo bluetooth headsets - check your phone first if this is a big feature for you.

There are call answer, mute/hangup, forward/back track and volume buttons on the ear piece themselves.  This is great, because it means you don’t have to take your phone out of your pocket to change the song or answer a call.  The buttons are a bit hard to differentiate though, sometimes i press ’skip track’, instead of ‘volume up’, for example.

The sound is pretty good, but not great.  I’m no audiophile, so my standards are not high, but I do notice a bit of hallow-ness and tinniness at times.  The volume could also go a bit higher.  But this is a small complaint - the audio is fine for my standards at least.

Battery life for the headphones are great.  I haven’t tested the bluetooth dongle as much, but from what I’ve experienced no complaints so far.

The Pulsar 590A model (not 590E) comes with a desktop charging stand (pictured).  This thing is pretty cool - the pulsars kind of stick up from the stand, so they look great and are easy to pull out and use.  The dongle attaches to a secondary cord that is attached to the main power cord, so you can charge both the headset and dongle at the same time.

There is also a USB charging cord included as well, although this one only allows you to charge one device (either headphones or dongle) at a time.  I was very, very impressed with the whole charging system for the Pulsars.  It is well thought out to be both attractive and convenient - many design points here!  It’s kind of weird to think about charging a headset, but with bluetooth this is par for the course.

Range is also very good.  I can walk around my whole apartment (a one bedroom though, so it’s not huge) without losing the signal - even if I close a door.  It’s pretty valuable to be watching a tv show, then walk to the bathroom while not missing a beat.

The construction of the headphones is a bit flimsy.  The ear pieces fold up when not in use, but the joints don’t feel super solid.  The ear pieces also wobble around a bit.  This doesn’t impact listening, but those of you accustomed to bigger studio headsets will not feel as comfortable with the pulsars.  There’s a fine line between compactness and sturdiness, and the pulsars go a decent, but not excellent job here.

One thing to note, when you walk around with these things you look dorky.  Not only are they very spaceman-looking with their silver and black finish, you have the mic slightly exposed as well as a large circular blue light blinking.  I mean, it is what it is, just be prepared for some asinine comments from your coworkers.

Overall, I am very very happy with these things.  Bluetooth and headphones are kind of a new technology, and I looked at a bunch of different products before deciding on the Pulsar 590As, and am glad I picked these guys.  I got mine on ebay for about $110 - that’s probably the best price you’re going to get, so i’d suggest taking a look for them there.

There is also a review of the pulsars here on Cnet.

A few weeks ago, I posted about the attractively priced Cuisinart Griddler.  After a few weeks of use, here are my impressions.

First, the Griddler was cheap, only $49.99 from Amazon for a refurbished version from Amazon.  The thing normally costs around $200.  Some may worry about refurbished products, but my Griddler worked fine.  It also came with a 90 day warranty, standard for these types of products.

The Griddler has a sliver exterior that looks like stainless steel, although much of it is plastic.  Some parts, like the side handles are kind of cheap feeling, but the base is very solid and secure.

Unlike the George Forman grill, the cooking plates of the Griddler are removable and swapable.  You get grill plates, that have ridges, and griddle plates, that are flat.  You get two of each, one for the top, and one for the bottom.

The cooking plates are coated with a non-stick layer that makes them easy to clean.  Also, since you can remove them, you can stick them in soapy water for a while, which makes it easier to remove all the burnt gunk.  They are also dishwasher safe, although I have not tried this.  The griddler comes with one of those plastic grill cleaners to clean between the ridges, but a sponge with the rough green stuff works fine as well.

You have several options when cooking.  You can open up the griddler all the way, so both grill surfaces are facing upwards.  This gives you a very nice cooking surface.  You can also close the top surface on top of the lower surface, like a foreman grill, or just use the bottom surface.  This flexibility was appreciated.

The front of the Griddler has three dials.  The middle dial sets the device to grill or griddle.  The dial on the left is used when you set the middle dial to griddle - it lets you set a specific temperature up to 450 degrees (i believe).  The right dial is used when you set the middle dial to grill.  It has options like panni or sear - not temperatures.

I thought all of these dials were unnecessary.  The single temperature dial would be enough for me.  Basically, I think the idea is that you can either dial in an exact temperature, or if you don’t know, you can set it to grill and set the temperature based on what you want to do with your food (like sear or panni), similar to the ‘popcorn’ button on a microwave.

The cooking plates on the Griddler are heated by heating elements that are placed near the perimeter of the grilling surfaces (picture).  You can see the heating elements when you take the plates off.  For the most part, these work well.  Once you set the knobs, the griddler will display a red light until the grill reaches the correct temperature, then the light will turn green.  As you add stuff to the grill, the temperature drops, so the light will sometimes go back to red.

One thing I don’t like about these electric grills, however, is that the cooking surface distributes heat unevenly.  For example, I tried a steak on the Griddler, and some parts cooked quicker than others.  It wasn’t a huge problem, but the difference in temperature was visibly evident when looking at how the steak was cooking.

The surface does work well for veggies though.  I cooked mushrooms and okara, and both were done well.  You kind of have to experiment if you want to close the top grill over the bottom, or just use the lower grill.  Depends on what you’re cooking and how you like it done.

I also cooked a bunch of eggs on the Griddler - a fun experience that reminds me of a coffee shop or something.  For eggs you obviously use the griddle surface, not the grill surface.

The eggs cook quickly and actually pretty evenly.  It’s fun to flip them and stuff, and the non-stick coating works pretty well, although I would suggest that you use Pam also.  One thing though is that the Griddler needs to be very flat when you cook eggs, or else they’ll run all over the place.

Overall, I think the Griddler works very well and was worth the $50.  I like it better than sticking a grill surface on my electric stove, although I do not think it works as well as a gas stove.  But in the electric kitchens that are increasingly common today, the Griddler plays an important role.

I’ve used a George Foreman grill in the past, and the versatility of the Griddler is worth the extra money, believe me.  You have more cooking options with the different plates, and it’s really easy to clean since you can take the grilling plates off.

It works better for some foods than others.  I’d keep steaks in the frying pan, but for any sandwich imaginable, burger, veggies, eggs, or pancakes, seems like the Griddler is a good bet.

From Engadget.

It’s not gonna be a good friday for vonage.  Today, US District Judge Claude Hilton imposed a stay on Vonage, forbidding the company from adding new customers.

Ironically, since it is good friday, the market is closed so we can’t go through the fun of seeing Vonage’s stock tank.

For as must as vonage likes to call out people who do ’stupid things’ in their commercials, they aren’t looking so hot themselves - from what could possibly be the most botched IPO in history, to allegedly infringing on Verizon’s patents.

I’m a vonage user, sad to say, so it’s not looking so great for me either.  Think it’s time to port again.