Check one of these out. All of them are wireless, work with Google Docs as well as Apple's AirPrint technology. Finally, Canon has their own app for iOS or Android to print photos.
Canon MG 8220 MG 6220 and MG 5320...
This article covers them all.
http://thetechjournal.com/electronics/canon-pixmas-new-three-wireless-printers-with-airprint-support.xhtml
Also note that ALL newer PIXMA wireless printers will get an update to support AirPrint. Awesome.
Reviews:
MG 8220
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394284,00.asp#fbid=ccOwCFKq003
MG 6220
none yet
MG 5320
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391362,00.asp#fbid=ccOwCFKq003
Having had personal experience with the canon PIXMA line of products (our family has the now older MP950) i can't recommend them enough. It does an awesome job for whatever you throw at it and 2 or 3 years later (i forget) we've had no problems. I can't say that for any other brand printer we've had over the years.
Ill update this page with more details such as the difference between the models at a later date. So far only thing I've noticed is only the higher end 8220 and 6220 support newer (therefore larger, like 32 or 64gb) SDXD memory cards.
Also, some people may need an auto sheet feeder or fax machine, in that case check this guy out. (these should get the AirPrint upgrade)
MX882
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2379000,00.asp#fbid=ccOwCFKq003
There is a cheaper MX420, but it seems its worth the extra money to get the MX882
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380749,00.asp#fbid=ccOwCFKq003
Showing posts with label Recommendations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recommendations. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
So you need a digital Camera
I'm not a photographer, but i do very much enjoy photography so we are only going to look at point and shoot cameras. Some day i hope to get more into it. For now, here are some recommendations...
I pretty much only look at canon cameras. To me, they're a brand somewhat like Apple or BMW, nearly everything they make is awesome. Occasionally, they release a bad or sub par product, so, like all technology, you gotta read reviews and opinions about each model being released that you're interested in. That being said, since in general they fall in that rare category of a brand that rarely makes mistakes, if you're lazy you can be somewhat safe with just going to the store and as long as you end up with some canon camera you will be happy. But since you're here, and reading a few more sentences isn't too difficult, i think you will be happy with these choices.
Top choice, the Canon HS 310 $250
Basically you get a a great lens, great sensor for a great price.
This article compares it to its bigger brother the HS 510 and explains a bit why its a good deal
http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2011/08/canon-elph-510-hs-and-310-hs-are-skinny-compact-cameras-lots-zoom
Note that he is comparing the iPhone to his canon s95, which was the predecessor to the s100, so thats pretty impressive to say the least. (and who knows how detailed his eye and opinion is) Of course it still won't be as good and will still be horrible in low light conditions.
I pretty much only look at canon cameras. To me, they're a brand somewhat like Apple or BMW, nearly everything they make is awesome. Occasionally, they release a bad or sub par product, so, like all technology, you gotta read reviews and opinions about each model being released that you're interested in. That being said, since in general they fall in that rare category of a brand that rarely makes mistakes, if you're lazy you can be somewhat safe with just going to the store and as long as you end up with some canon camera you will be happy. But since you're here, and reading a few more sentences isn't too difficult, i think you will be happy with these choices.
Top choice, the Canon HS 310 $250
Basically you get a a great lens, great sensor for a great price.
This article compares it to its bigger brother the HS 510 and explains a bit why its a good deal
http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2011/08/canon-elph-510-hs-and-310-hs-are-skinny-compact-cameras-lots-zoom
Second Choice is the Canon Powershot s100 $430
This one is pretty pricey, but is at the top of the list of compact cameras. It will produce better pictures than the HS 310. It also has GPS built in, so every photo will be geo tagged.... how awesome is that for the traveler!
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/09/canon-powershot-s100-is-a-low-light-hotshot/
And finally we have the Canon HS 510 $350
this is the upgraded version of the HS 310 i mentioned earlier. As far as i can tell the only advantage you get with this camera is a larger touch screen interface. However, that interface isn't that great and i don't feel the extra cost is worth it. So this is just here in case you gotta have the latest and greatest. In my opinion, once you're spending the $350 for this camera, you might as well get the s100 which is a better camera.
On a final note, the new Apple iPhone 4S has probably the best camera in a smart phone right now. According to early reviews, it just about good enough to replace your point and shoot. So, thats something to consider depending how serious you are about your photos.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/11/iphone-4s-review/
Note that he is comparing the iPhone to his canon s95, which was the predecessor to the s100, so thats pretty impressive to say the least. (and who knows how detailed his eye and opinion is) Of course it still won't be as good and will still be horrible in low light conditions.
Also, all these cameras, (including the iPhone) shoot video in 1080p, which besides being awesome, makes me wonder what the future of consumer compact camcorders will be if still cameras can do great (enough?) video.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
So You Need to Build a Computer
Well, this video isn't actually all that useful for someone learning, but i had a blast making it, so hope you enjoy. Also, if you have already built computers, i think you will find it quite entertaining.
http://vimeo.com/29548110
http://vimeo.com/29548110
Friday, August 12, 2011
So you need high speed internet…
There are lots of options out there of course, and this is a somewhat impossible question to answer conclusively because different options will be available to different people in different locations at different speeds. Thats a lot of differences. So let me tell you some things to look for and some things to avoid.
First, the obvious.
Fiber Optic is the fastest form of internet, if you can get fiber to your house for a reasonable rate, thats the way to go.
Cable seems to be pretty much the second best option, and in some situations is faster than fiber.
DSL sucks. Don’t bother. I’m serious. I looked at AT&T’s rates and speeds and I get faster speeds on my smartphone’s 3g connection for the same amount of money. Yup, its that bad.
Comcast is the main cable guy. They now call their service “Xfinity.”
Verizon is the main fiber guy.
At&t has DSL but also some form of cable / fiber hybrid they call “u verse.”
What I've found simply looking in the east bay as well as the stockton area.
Verizon is not available in many places, so I have not personally used them. I have heard good things however. Some places however they still don’t get fiber directly to the home so speeds may not be that much if any faster than comcast.
My parents have comcast and I recently just got their service in my apartment. They are quite aggressive and are promoting fast speeds at good intro pricing. After the intro pricing however, they can be quite expensive, but no more so than anyone else. (at least with my limited research) They are reinforcing their backbone network with fiber to make it faster, and may eventually offer fiber to the home.
Gotta stay on top of them, it seems the best way to go about it is join for intro pricing then look elsewhere. If you switch (think in a year) you can hopefully switch back and get more intro pricing. Check to make sure there’s no time agreement with your contract.
AT&T’s DSL, as I mentioned before, is something I would recommend you avoid. Their U Verse, is quite different however. They have fiber backbone but ultimately its just cable coming to the home. That means the speeds are actually just similar to comcast. Furthermore, I found U Verse was not available in my area, so I was not able to try it. Prices seemed similar to comcast but not as many intro deals were available.
Second, the not so obvious.
Don’t rent the modem from the company. This may just be personal preference, but here are my reasons for doing so. Renting the modem will cost you an extra 5 dollars a month, which although doesnt seem like alot it means you are spending money on nothing…
If you buy a modem, buy this one.
I just found this one, it is a slightly newer model but I cannot find any differences so far. Does not seem to e worth the quite increased price.
http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-SURFboard®-SB6121-DOCSIS-Cable/dp/B004J0DE0A/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1312509354&sr=8-9
User review suggests it is simply smaller. It mentions it is ip v6 compitible, I need to check and see if first modem is ipv6
Its DOCSIS 3.0, which is a relatively new standard that means it can accept the higher speeds cable companies will have if you willing to pay for them.
It will not work with verizon Fios service however.
At about $90, it will pay for itself in 1.5 years, making it worth it financially.
I would avoid the modem router combos. They tend to have more issues and less support. Furthermore their router abilities are usually not as good as a stand alone system. Finally, and the biggest reason, the life of a modem will vastly out live a router. WiFI technologies are constantly getting better, giving your router a lifespan of roughly 2 to 4 years. A docsis 3.0 modem however, unless you switch to fiber or something drastically changes, (which it always potentially could) will last 4 to 6 years.
If you must just get a combo, get this one, as its the only one I know of that has docsis 3.0 modem with a wireless N certified router.
I will admit it is pretty impressive to cram a dual band N router and modem in one package, and may serve some people quite fine while being simpler.
However, I think reviews show it will not be as good as a stand alone dual band router.
Also its quite expensive.
NOTE
I have not done research for hosting your own websites or for corporate stuff. I plan on hosting my own website soon so when i cross that bridge and talk to comcast about it i will let you know.
So you need a router….
The quick no nonsense answer is...
Buy this one.
It doesnt do everything, but what it does, provide basic wireless N (the most modern WiFi standard) it does very well.
Yes it will work with PC, MAC, iOS, Android and everything else.
One annoyance, in order to set it up easily you need a DVD drive on one of your computers. (setup runs on a supplied CD)
I also personally own this one, and can attest to... it working great, easy setup, not having any weird issues. I have not tested range as right now my computer sits right next to it. You can set it up completely wirelessly which is nice. I think it looks cool too, which as we all know, is very important.
If you have questions, go here.
And here
Belkin has this little guy.. Which might be worth it but I have yet to find a review of the device.
There are expensive dual band routers that could be recommended as well. However, right now I feel it is in the consumer’s best interest to get a cheaper basic N router such as this one and wait for dual band gigabit routers to become cheaper (and undoubtable better)
If you need one of those, (plan to do lots of wireless video streaming for example) Linksys, netgear, and apple have some high end models that are recommended.
In fact, apple recently updated their airport extreme, which if used with any sandy bridge equipped mac you will get quite epic speed boosts.
http://www.macrumors.com/2011/08/08/latest-airport-extremes-bring-improved-range-and-performance/
Quick Note
If you feel you know better than i and are going to not listen to this, at least do this...
Do not, for my sanity's sake, ever buy any router labeled something like "N150"
this includes this one...
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Wireless-Router-Latest-Generation/dp/B004N6259G/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1313202762&sr=1-1
and this one
http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-RangeMax-150-Wireless-Router/dp/B001UI4RTG/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1313202890&sr=1-3
Here's why...
those routers, and anything "n150" are actually not certified with the WiFi standard "wireless N" Essentially they are Wireless G routers with some added stuff to make them work a bit faster and more reliable, usually using MIMO tech (Multiple In Multiple Out antennas. this is standard on certified N products.) Here's the catch, in order to get that added benefit your adapter must be specially designed (usually meaning its the same brand of the router) to take any of these advantages. Since most people use devices with integrated wifi devices this never happens. So basically you're just getting a Wireless G router.
Whats wrong with that they're cheap, you may ask?
Well, first of all they are lying to you. (by calling it "n150" it sounds like its certified, and also i guess they avoid being sued for not actually meeting the standard.) And that is something that really bothers me. They should just call them G routers, then i might not rant so much.
I believe we as consumers actually have a lot of power over companies by what we chose to buy, and i don't want to encourage this behavior.
Secondly, Wireless G is ok, sorta kinda, 3 years ago. Compared to N, which has much better speed, range, and reliability, G is not worth you spending money on. Even if your needs are simple, trust me, you will be much happier spending $50 for the router i recommended than $30 for any of these.
Finally, these routers often use the cheapest components used by companies, so they are more likely to fail. You are better off getting an older high quality MIMO G router used than one of these.
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