Takes On Tech

Microsoft’s Tammara Edgin Speaks to Us About DreamSpark

One of the problems when a high school or college student wants to study for a career in IT or design is the high cost of the software used in those fields. Even if your school has labs for learning, it is not the same as having access to the tools at home on your own time. Yes, there is open source, but to have solid education to get a job, you need to know more than just the open source tools. As you can see from the list below Microsoft has made the majority of its tool available to students and ...

Sansa slotRadio Player - Computer Free MP3 Enjoyment

If you own an MP3 player then you may have run into those situations where you are away and unable to update your player until you can sync to with the mother ship. Freeing the player from the computer is also an issue for those who would like to have a way to listen to audio, but don't want to deal with a computer to manage it with. SanDisk has introduced the slotMusic concept, with players that use microSD cards to store and play back audio files. With slotMusic players your tunes are once again free from your computer. If you ...

Left and Right Review of Microsoft SideWinder X3 Gamer Mouse

In our house, rather than having a battle for computers, we battle over mice. One of us is a righty and one is a lefty. When it comes to to gaming and higher end mice generally the lefty loses since they are ergonomically designed for right handed users only. Microsoft is about to ship a new gaming mouse, the SideWinder X3. Despite the fact that it is set at a moderate price, $39.99, it has many of the same features as it's more expensive competition such as the Microsoft SideWinder X5 and the Logitech G9. Though they are called gaming mice, they ...

Review - SkullCandy LowRider Headphones

I am a product of the headphone generation. The first headphones I ever tried when I was little were an expensive pair of stereo phones the size of half oranges, that my dad was always trying to keep away from us. I was in my teens when the Walkman appeared and suddenly everyone in my generation, including me, was wearing headphones everywhere…all the time. Configuring my personal soundscape has been an ongoing challenge even since. Sound quality, cost, portability, and comfort are all deciding factors. The Low Riders have very good sound quality, with deep but not overwhelming base and warm highs. ...