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Toshiba Canvio 3.0 External Hard Drive

December 17, 2011 /

In today’s world, you always have a need for more storage, and as we start to organize photos and videos in digital format, we need ways to back up and protect our data.

Toshiba has introduced a new series of Canvio 3.0 hard drives that meet these needs. They offer blazing-fast transfer speeds and pre-loaded backup software, and they are cloud-backup capable. The units offer a variety of storage capacity and we tested the one terabyte model.

One of the main characteristics of these devices is the ability to sync with the cloud. The Canvio 3.0 is pre-loaded with Windows™-based NTI® BackupNow EZ™ software that provides step-by-step and fully-customizable backup capabilities to the cloud and to the drive. Users create a cloud account with NTI® BackupNow EZ™ where they can backup specific folders, certain file types, and conduct a complete system backup to the Canvio 3.0. The backup software also scans the user’s system and files and recommends which files to backup to cloud-based or on-device storage.

The Canvio family now includes the support of USB 3.0, enabling Canvio users to take advantage of the faster data transfer speed of USB 3.0-enabled devices. We were impressed with the speed when we tested it out.

Some advanced features include complete password protection with up to 256-bit data encryption to prevent unauthorized access to data and an on-screen Drive Space Alert monitor that sends an alert when storage space is running low. The internal Shock Sensor and Ramp Loading Technology protect the drive during daily movement from a pocket, desk, bag, or beyond so you can feel comfortable carrying this around. It’s amazing how small these devices have become and how much you can store in a portable device.

The design of the unit is very slick and sturdy with rounded rectangular form factor and sleek high gloss finish. It’s also easy to grip it on the sides. It’s available in black, white, silver, red, green, and blue3.

This makes a great gift for anyone on your list, both techies who will appreciate the advanced features and others who need a simple way to protect their photos and home videos.

Check out our Holiday Gift Guide for more gift ideas.

Gadgets, Stuff to Buy

Drink of the Week: Hot Buttered Rum

December 16, 2011 /

Hot Buttered RumButter…mmm…not the most common of classic cocktail ingredients but hot buttered rum is not your ordinary cocktail. A Christmastime favorite in many places, the history of today’s DOTW likely goes back as far as prior to the U.S. Revolutionary War, when New England was awash with rum due to the deeply unfestive Triangle Trade.

Now, I have to admit that, prior to this week, hot buttered rum existed to me only as an occasionally referenced warmer upper on 1970s sitcoms and 1950s rom-coms. The good news is that, I have to say, I’m sold on it. This version is simple and sweet and pretty surefire, though it’s definitely best if you can get it all down while it’s still hot.

One proviso: some ultra-purists may sniff at this recipe since it doesn’t call for you to heat this drink with, get this, a red hot poker removed directly from a fireplace. (I used a microwave.)

Hot Buttered Rum

2 ounces dark rum
2 teaspoons sugar, preferably dark brown or raw
5-7 ounces boiling water
1 pat of butter (unsalted or salted)
Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and/or cloves to taste

Put butter, sugar, and a dash or two of any or all of the suggested seasonings in mug, ideally pre-heated. Pour about 1-2 ounces of your boiling water in. Stir until the butter is melted and the sugar and spices have dissolved. Add two ounces of room temperature dark rum and top of with your remaining not-quite boiling but still extremely hot water.

Stir again and sip gingerly. It should be about the perfect temperature but better safe than sorry. Try not to spill any on your Snuggie.

****

A couple of quick notes. Most recipes call for unsalted butter, but I was too lazy, cheap and hateful of waste to run to the store for a product I would never use for any other purpose. Salted butter worked fine, though I would stay away from any other obvious substitutions. (“Hot margarined rum”?) Also, most recipes say to add the butter last, but I found it melted easier my way and I still got a nice buttery coating on top.

As usual, there are an enormous number of ways to make hot buttered rum. A lot of recipes substitute super-hot apple cider for water, which I’m sure is pretty tasty but adds a lot of calories. Some versions throw ice cream into the mix, which just kind of blows my mind. Seriously, though, if you use a nice dark rum and dark brown sugar or raw sugar — both of which include molasses, the stuff they make rum out of — this drink should be plenty sweet.

Speaking of dark rum, you may find that with all the light, amber, and spiced varieties available, regular dark rum might be a bit harder to find in your price range than you’d think. BevMo here in California’s OC offered only two varieties of true dark rum. Myer’s Rum which was about $19.00 for a fifth and Whaler’s Original Rum, which was about half that price and turned out to be perfect for getting all hot and buttered.

Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Vices

Friday Video – Danger Mouse, “99 Problems”

December 16, 2011 /

Over the last decade, we’ve seen some curious new pathways to success or, at the very least, fame. (They are not always one and the same, you know.) The most notorious one, of course, is the sex tape. Kim Kardashian may have a gigantic empire now, but it wasn’t long ago that she was just the daughter of a defense attorney and BFF of tabloid staple Paris Hilton. Then, one day, she had a thought: “I could make a videotape of myself having sex with a guy, then leverage my friendship with Paris for maximum exposure. What’s that, honey? You want to pee on me? Yeah, whatever, as long as it makes me famous.”

Then there is the path forged by one Brian Joseph Burton, whose debut album didn’t contain a lick of original production or content. Instead, he took the rhymes from Jay-Z’s The Black Album, and put them to the instrumental tracks from the Beatles’ The Beatles (aka The White Album), and poof, The Grey Album was born. And really, once you heard about this project, was there any question which song Danger Mouse would use to back up “99 Problems”? Hell to the naw. Of course it would be “Helter Skelter,” which is still one of the most hard-rocking songs ever recorded.

Have a good pre-Christmas weekend, everyone. May your problems be fewer than 99.

Music, Videos

More Gadget Stocking Stuffers

December 16, 2011 /

Stocking stuffers have come a long way since candy canes and decks of playing cards. Kids today love gadgets and electronics so there’s a whole new set of possible gifts. Small gadgets and gadget accessories offer great gift ideas in today’s world and we’ve got some more to go with the stocking stuffers highlighted in our Holiday Gift Guide.

Dual USB Charger

The first one is small and simple but very useful. We’re always on the go, and now everyone in the family or in the car has their own gadgets. With more people needing a charge, it’s great to have a charger that can accommodate more than one device.

Bracketron offers a Dual USB Charger (pictured above) which allows you to charge or power two devices at the same time in any vehicle. The Dual USB Charger is available now for $24.95 at Bracketron.com and is available at consumer electronics retailers. It includes both high and low-current USB outputs, perfect for quickly and safely charging your tablet and handheld mobile device simultaneously while you’re on the road. Of course, you need to be careful while driving! The pocket-sized device is compatible with iPad, iPhone/iPod, MP3 players, satellite radios, GPS units, smartphones and more. It definitely fits into a stocking and it’s perfect for people on the go (and that includes kids!).

Toddy Smart Cloth

With so many gadgets offering touch screens, our screens easily get dirty and smudged. To clean them properly it’s handy to have something specifically designed to do the job. The Toddy Smart Cloth is a carefully handcrafted microfiber cloth provides effective, scratch-free cleaning for your iDevices, screens, camera lenses and more, and it features an antimicrobial coating. It’s offered in a bunch of cool designs, so you can pick one that fits the person on your list. One side of the cloth is made to clean, while the other has the design and makes it easy to hold and swipe the device. Check out their website to pick out a cool design.

Luna Voyager II

Finally we have a clock radio for the Apple generation. Everyone appreciates a cool clock radio for their room, and now you can wake up to your favorite music by hooking up your iPhone, iPod or iPad to this device from XtremeMac. The Luna Voyager II is an easy to use alarm clock that delivers 4 watts of power and dual speakers for superior stereo sound. Setting the clock is simple with the auto time set feature, simply dock the desired Apple device and the time is set automatically. Users can choose to set alarms directly from the Apple device with the free Luna Voyager App or manually on the dock itself. Dual independent alarm settings allow two users to wake to iPod, FM radio or chime. Additionally, the Luna Voyager II features a battery backup to ensure users will never miss an alarm. It’s great for kids and adults alike.

Enjoy the final week of shopping!

Gadgets, Stuff to Buy

The Light from the TV Shows: “Impractical Jokers” and Other Hidden-Camera Shenanigans

December 14, 2011 /

I’ve always been of the belief that a little bit of a hidden-camera series goes a long way, and TruTV’s latest addition to the popular genre – “Impractical Jokers” – doesn’t offer anything to change that particular rule of thumb. That’s not to say that the show isn’t in possession of a few funny moments here and there, though.

Brian “Q” Quinn, James “Murr” Murray, Joe Gatto, and Sal Vulcano have been friends since they were kids, and they’ve spent a lot of their long friendship challenging each other to do stupid stuff…or, at least, that’s how the press release for “Impractical Jokers” spins it, anyway. And, hey, it might even be true, given the way the guys react to and act around each other on the show. Each episode pits the pals against each other in a competition to see who can pull off the most outrageous foolishness, with one wearing an earpiece and going into some public situation (in the first episode, they work at a White Castle and a Costco as well as stand in the heart of Times Square answering questions and asking people to sign petitions) while the others throw them random things to say. If they actually have the balls to say them, then they get a point. No balls, no points.

It’s clear that they want to play up this whole friends-for-life angle amongst Q, Murr, Joe, and Sal, but I can tell you this right now: if they don’t tone down the audio on the other three while their buddy is busy making an ass of himself, I’ll only be tuning in whenever I get good word of mouth about a particular segment. It’s annoying as hell, and I don’t think I was even five minutes into the screener before I first thought, “Geez, these guys are obnoxious.” In their defense, if they weren’t so obnoxious, they almost certainly wouldn’t end up getting as many laughs. But I can barely hear my own laughter over their constant giggling.

Here’s a quick clip to tide you over until the show makes it debut on Dec. 15 with back-to-back episodes at 10 and 10:30 PM (EST / PST):

But, hey, let’s not pretend that “Impractical Jokers” are the first people to hide a camera and film crazy shenanigans. As long as I’m talking about these guys, the least I can do is offer up a few clips from some of the other shows that have helped blaze the trail for them.

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Entertainment, Humor, News, Television

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