But, hopefully, sometime in the next year I can add a laptop to my collection as well. I really want something in red (Dell, Vaio and Gateway all make ‘em in red) and will probably go for a refurbish model just to save some money. For now, I can just be jealous.

To put it mildly, my DS – in polar white – is the only gaming system I use frequently and is the only newer system to which I have become attached. The Nintendo DS builds upon the strong base that Nintendo’s previous hand-held consoles under the Gameboy moniker, bringing with it tried and true strengths as well as new features.

Although the DS in Nintendo DS stands for “Developer’s System” to the company, the public refers to it as “Dual Screen” because this system has 2 screens. Although not the first dual screen handheld system, the Nintendo DS brings some unique aspects to the concept which set it apart.

Some of the other features of this system include:

Touch Screen

Play with the stylus in addiction to the buttons

Microphone

Add the aspect of sound to your gameplay

Backward Compatibility

Play your GameBoy Advance games

Pictochat

Communicate with others in close range

Wifi

Upload scores and play games with others wherever a wireless connection is available

Download Play

Play games with friends who do not have the game by allowing them to download it temporarily to their system

Lithium Ion Battery

A 4 hour charge provides up to 15 hours of game play

Also available in metallic rose and Onyx Black as well as new duos of Black and Crimson and Black and Cobalt,there is a shade for everyone. The Nintendo DS Lite is actually a sleeker, smaller redesign of the original DS. I chose white because it looked sleek and slightly futuristic.

Of course, no Nintendo DS will be purchased without a game as well. My first game was Nintendogs and I have since added more to my collection including Mario Kart DS and Mario and Sonic at the Olympics. Of course, if you have Gameboy Advance games, these can also be played with the Nintendo DS as it has, true to hand held Nintendo systems, limited backwards compatibility.

The dual screen system allows for information to be displayed in one screen (usually the top) while game play takes place in the other (usually the bottom). Both screens are wider and taller than the screen on the GameBoy Advance which provides a richer gaming experience.

Additionally, the bottom screen is also a touch screen which adds a new and interesting element to game play. Instead of just using buttons, you can draw, rub, and tap with the stylus (which is housed in the bottom of the system and slides out easily) to add variation to the game. For instance, in Nintendogs, you can use the stlus to pet your pup, throw a Frisbee or pull a leash.

The microphone, located between the 2 screens, also adds a new element for use of sound in games. Players can teach their Nintendogs commands by using the microphone and in Mario and Sonic at the Olympics, clapping into the microphone will psych up the character. Mario Kart DS Makes use of the microphone in its Balloon Battles where players blow into the microphone to inflate their balloons.

Of course, if you’re looking for something a little more retro, you can always play your GBA games on your Nintendo DS. The bigger GBA cartridges fit into an additional port at the back of the system and use only 1 screen (the top) for play which lets you continue to enjoy your favourite titles.

Of course, the Nintendo DS has versions of many favourite games, as well as new ones, for today’s gamers. Mario Kart DS includes classic tracks as well as new ones, Super Mario Bros and Mario 64 have both been given slight face lifts to adapt to this new system as well.

The Nintendo DS Lite, like all Nintendo systems is a great way to interact with your friends. Without a game inserted, the Nintendo DS menu has an option for Pictochat which allows you to chat and draw with others in close proximity who also have a DS.

The download play feature of the Nintendo DS allows 2 or more players in close proximity to play the same game when only 1 player has the game (although if both people have the same game, there will be less limitations). You can now play Tetris or Mario Kart with your best friends with up to 8 players.

Of course, if your friends are busy you don’t have to play alone. The Wi-Fi option of the Nintendo DS adds yet another fun aspect to game play. The Nintendo DS supports WEP-encrypted networks and you can connect to play with others across the world.

The last significant feature of the Nintendo DS is its rechargeable LithionIon battery. Equipped with adapter, the battery indicator will change to red from its normal green when power is lower. You can continue to play as your system charges although it will charge faster when turned off. When the charge is complete – a full charge takes 4 hours – the red indicator will turn off and the Nintendo DS will be playable for up to 15 hours. Battery life can be extended by turning down the brightness settings.

The features sound great but how does it work out? Very well, in my opinion.

The dual screen allows for more in depth game play and information. The touch screen offers a new aspect that’s great for casual gamers, such as myself, and children. Some gamers may not like this type of game play and frequently playing with the stylus can require a surprising amount of speed and effort that can leave your arm tired. The same goes for the microphone which adds variety but can seem a little silly, especially when talking to your Nintendogs.

The Wi-Fi options are an improvement over the GBA’s gamelink. I can easily play a game with my husband who doesn’t have the game with Download Play or chat to the neighbours with Pictochat. As someone who likes that sort of interaction, the DS certainly delivers.

However, I have been a bit disappointed with the Wi-FI capabilities. For starters, not all networks are supported. I have only been able to successfully connect to a wireless network once, although the DS detects networks. It seems that the system is not a very strong receiver and that a strong signal is needed. With public networks, this is out of my control. Also, some network settings may need to be adjusted to allow a specific DS system to connect which is, again, impossible with public networks.

It may work better with a private wireless network, which I don’t have. I’m also not positive if the weak reception is an issue with the Nintendo DS in general or just mine as my husband’s DS seems to work a little better in this area.

If I were better able to use the WiFI feature, I would definitely look into the DS browser which allows one to browse the internet with the system.

Despite the issue with WiFI, I still get many hours of enjoyment out of my Nintendo DS on a weekly basis. It’s great when I’m waiting for someone or something, like in an airport, and is small enough for me to carry around in my purse if I suspect I may be bored.

There’s a wide variety of games including first person shooters, racing, puzzle, pet, RPGs, fighting, action, arcade, simulation, strategy, music and educational games so everyone will find something that fits. The games are also significantly less expensive than games for other popular systems.

It’s a good system for solo or interactive play so it doesn’t bore you easily.

If that doesn’t get you, I’m sure the price will; at roughly %100 cheaper than the least expensive full console (Nintendo Wii), the Nintendo DS will not burn as big off a hole in your pocket and the games won’t set you back as much.

I love my Nintendo DS and think it’s a great system for anyone of any age or gender. With an abundant supply of accessories and tools, the Nintendo DS provides a gaming experience like none other. The only thing I would caution about it keeping an eye on your stylus; those small pen-like pieces are easy to lose! Other than that, let’s play!

Although it has some visible signs of wear – the silver coating on the exterior has worn off on places where the fingers and hand usually sit – this little electronic has proved very useful for me.

Now, the one issue I had is that this Micro mouse is not completely wireless. It has a receiver which plugs into my computers PS2/mouse port. Which also means it don’t work with any system without a PS2 port. Currently, that are many wireless mice available with just a tiny USB adapter so this is no longer an issue. Overall, it’s not a big deal because the mouse isn’t connected to any cords and that’s what matter.

I found that the speed of the optical mouse really is improved over the speed of the old “ball” style mouse I had. Furthermore, the optical mouse never gets full of dirt, pet hair and lint that needs to be cleaned out. It doesn’t seem to be quite as accurate or quick for games that require that so a traditional optical mouse would probably work better.

It’s also held up incredibly well with literally no issues. It’s important to remember that the wireless mouse will go ‘idle’ after a period of disuse and this is easily fixed by clicking a button – that simple!

Another thing to remember is that, after changing batteries, a button must be pressed on the receiver and while the green light is blinking, the ‘reset’ must be activated on the bottom of the Micro mouse. This is far from a hassle.

My biggest issue, I think, and it really affects my husband more than me is that you are frequently changing batteries. I accepted that as a given and that might be a deal breaker for some, if you’re like that, you might consider purchasing a new rechargeable style mouse.

Other than that, the only draw back is that the mouse is shaped slightly different from typical mice. It’s very egg-shaped and wide along the sides whereas other mice are narrower on the sides, this might feel a bit large or awkward for some at first but it’s a quick adjustment.

I’ll leave you with another plus and that is the Optical Wireless Mouse with Scroll Wheel PS/2 is equipped with buttons on either side that function as “back” and “forward” buttons. I use these frequently when browsing the web and love them!

Overall, the Optical Wireless Mouse with Scroll Wheel PS/2 is a good investment which stands the test of time well. Wireless mice are not the best for certain activities, like gaming, and a rechargeable, wireless mouse does not require the frequent change of batteries. Regardless, I still like my optical, wireless mouse by Micro.

I have considered buying a used model of the same one; these runny pretty cheap. I’m not really sure what’s on the market for MP3 players as I haven’t looked for several years. Maybe it’s time for me to look at ipods. What do you think?

What eventually would happen is that I would stumbled across the M:Robe (short for “robe yourself in music” I believe) 100 in the Radio Shack in the mall which would prove to me that, yes indeed, this was a sexy MP3 player. At around $130, it was more than affordable compared to some alternatives and, what was most important, was it was there. So I purchased it, brought it home, and gave it googly eyes some more.

Then I decided to test it out. I plugged the dock in to the wall and connected the USB cord to my computer, put the M:Robe in its dock and ran the install software. The M:Robe comes with Olympus’ M:Trip software which is not very intuitive. Additionally, one cannot simply drag and drop music onto the MP3 player via explorer folders, as many prefer. Overall, the software would be the largest downfall of this sleek like machine.

In my excitement, I added my entire music folder which was much larger than the capacity of the M:Robe to the M:trip library. Upon adding it to the library, songs are automatically selected to sync with the player. This obviously didn’t work so well and M:Trip soon told me there was not enough room. I would have to be more level headed about this so I decided to start anew, cleared the library and went again.

Only, clearing the library does only just that. The music still stayed on the player. This was resolved by me opening the player from “My Computer” and manually deleting everything in there which I only discovered after several fruitless phone calls to Olympus. Looking back, this probably makes more sense than it did to the Cole back then who had never used an MP3 player like that before.

I imagine it’s easier to transfer music to the M:Robe, or any MP3 player, if your collection is more organized than mine or if you don’t actually have music that you don’t want to transfer. Going through thousands of songs to decide which to transfer is kind of a bummer but now that I have the majority of songs I actually want on my player, on my player, it’s not a huge deal to add new songs at the time that I download them.

After adding the songs to the library in the M:Trip software, you can sync. The M:Robe should be turned on while in the dock which will produce a message on the player’s screen indicating it’s connected and do not turn off (Docking the MP3 player while it’s off will recharge only). A little zig-zag arrow in the bottom, right corner of the software is the sync button. An alert asks what you want to sync and you’re good to go. It takes a bit to do so and once it’s done, make sure to disconnect the M:Robe (the button below the sync button) before removing it from the dock.

Of course, M:Trip software can do a bit more. It functions as a music player, as well as lets the user update information about each track. The M:Robe has lyrics capability and the user inputs lyrics for each track in the “Properties” screen via the software.

Furthermore, users can create play lists, add music to their favourites and view songs in the library by Genre, Artist, Album and Year. There’s a screen for searching the library which I find most frustrating because one actually has to use the mouse to select “Find;” key commands have no control here.

Lastly, M:Trip allows the user to create remixes of their songs. I leave this to the professionals so I don’t have an opinion. The software also has an area for editing photos even though the M:Robe 100 does not support photos. This is because the same software is used for it’s successor, the M:Robe 500i; has this feature and they use the same software.

The M:Robe – which supports MP3 and WMA tracks – has a sleek red on black digital touch screen for navigating. Unfortunately, this relies on heat sensations so this player didn’t work as well during the winter months when I was wearing gloves. Other than that, I had no issues with it.

Once you start playing with the M:Robe itself, you’ll see it’s easy to figure out quickly. If you’re looking for some advanced options, they’re there but it’s also good to use as a simple music player without fancy features, which is what I do.

The main menu – accessible from any screen by pressing and holding the Menu button for a few seconds – lists Music List, Browse, Music Settings and Device Settings.

Edit the Date/Time, Language, Backlight, Off Timer and and other settings under “Device Settings.” Change the Repeat, Random and Equalizers settings under “Music Settings.” Browse by Artist, Album, Genre, Composer or Year under the “Browse Mene.”

Finally, the “Music List” allows one to see All (in alphabetical order), Favorites (designated in the software), Recently Listened (Last 20 tracks played), My Top 20 (20 most played tracks), Tracks With Lyrics, Unplayed Tracks (all tracks show up here in the beginning) and any playlists created by the user. It’s all straight forward.

Select Play for any of these categories or go into the category to select a specific song and you’re on your way. The song screen will show the songs number out of the total number of tracks in that category, The length of the song and current location within the song, time, battery strength and settings like Repeat/Random, if they are on.

From this screen one can adjust the volume which will bring up the Volume Settings, showing the current setting. From this or any other screen, press the button on the bottom left to be taken to the current category playlist. If set on random, it will show the random playlist rather than alphabetical. Navigate through these lists by pressing the Forward or Back arrows.

Aside from use, The M:Robe 100 has an internal lithion ion battery which is rechargeable by docking it or plugging it into a computer via USB cord. The site claims charge to last between 8 and 12 hours depending on media type. I can’t say for sure that this isn’t true but I suspect it does not last quite that long. Regardless, the charge is held for long enough that it’s never been any issue for me.

There you have it; the M:Robe 100 is a very easy to use MP3 player that looks great. So what are the drawbacks?

The software is clunky and takes a lot of resources while refusing to be intuitive. I would prefer if I could simply drag and drop. I don’t feel that M:Trip really helps to see what’s on the M:Robe.

On several occasions, this player has locked up and became really warm. The first time, I didn’t know what happened so I let it sit for a few days and it was fine. After that, I used the “Reset” button on the bottom of the player and everything was back to normal, without loss of my music.

I would also prefer if the M:Robe could be charged by plugging it into an electrical outlet, for travel. The USB cord can be connected directly from the player to a computer but if one is not available, this is no help and even if there is a computer, the charge is significantly decreased from that of using the dock. I suppose the dock could be used without a computer but that’s a lot of hardware to be carrying around.

I know some people had issues with the sound (which is excellent) being very quiet but a firmware update quickly resolved this. If anything, I don’t think the lowest setting is quiet enough to listen to, say, while falling asleep.

Lastly, the wait time between tracks is significant over similar MP3 players like the Ipod.

The M:Robe has lasted me between 2 and 3 years and still seems to be going relatively strong. It has become rather scratched up as players typically do because I do not use a case or cover. Also, I recently had a small metal piece break off on the inside. After it was banging around for a while, I opened it up and took it out. Luckily it wasn’t super necessary (it make the player fit more securely on the dock) and didn’t damage anything. However, since then, the button screen does not light up like it used to, unless I apply pressure. I can live with though; my hand knows where all the buttons are for sure!

If you need a basic MP3 player and can find something used, I’d recommend the M:Robe. If you need all the bells and whistles, skip right over this one folks. However, the M:robe 100 is probably difficult to find at this point as shortly after I bought it, stores took it off the shelves. I believe it’s successor, the M:Robe 500 is still for sale, though.

Now, I hear you asking. “If it works right out of the box, how is it troublesome?” Well, boys and girls, it’s like this. Periodically, out internet just craps out. Now, our internet connection is far from the best so it may not be the router’s fault but I do feel it’s worth mentioning. This issue occurs every so often and starts with the internet being a little slow then gradually receding into the “completely shitty” category where, if we’re lucky, we can refresh a page 20 times and it might load – partially – during one of those refreshes. this seems to occur more frequently when we have both computers hooked up and the typical cure is to unhook everything for a short while, connect the modem directly to the internet, sign in, and then hook up the router once more. This is kind of lame.

We have contacted our ISP and even had someone come out. At these times, the ISP couldn’t detect any issues and we were simply told that they do not “support” routers. This is probably a typical ISP response and I doubt I’m the only person to hear this line of BS.

If you go the way of setting up the LinkSys Etherfast Router, you can use the setup wizard via CD-Rom that comes with the router or go the way of the web-based utility, following the instructions provided. However, this might be easier for those of you whose husbands haven’t thrown those items away. If you’re able to connect to the internet, you can easily find the userguide and quick install, both which should be available with your router when you purchase it.

Overall, the Etherfast Router performs well. There are some gliches with my connection which may be due to my ISP rather than my router but if you have similar issues, be prepared to get the runaround from both your ISP and Linksys’ horrible technical support.

So look forward to a couple of those reviews in the future.

We picked up the Epson Stylus CX8400 at a local store. I had been looking at it and chose it mostly for 4 reasons: it’s sexy and black, I can print directly from my memory card with it, it functions as a scanner as well and it was priced reasonably. Although I would be using is mostly as a document and photo printer, I occasionally will use these functions as well.

As an all-in-one printer, the Epson Stylus CX8400 does not necessarily need to be hooked up to a computer for some tasks. Copying and photo printing can be completed by using the controls on the top left of the unit as soon as the printer is plugged in and turned on. To scan or print a file from one’s computer, the printer must be hooked up which I did immediately.

On the outside, the Epson Stylus CX8400 Color All-in-One Printer a great printer with a classy finish, a smooth and looking and easy to use control panel on top and, right above that a 2.5′ LCD screen to view photos which also shows printing status and intructions for the current task. I was impressed by the LCD itself but the fact that it tilts upward really makes working with this printer easier. Having to stand over the printer to go through photos is certainly not something I want to do but the tilting LCD screen lets me work with the printer while sitting down. Another plus of this is how neatly the paper loading tray and paper catching tray fold up. There never has to be any part sicking out in your way!

Unfortunately, the Epson Stylus CX8400 Color All-in-One Printer does not come with a USB cord so I needed to purchase one which meant I couldn’t test it as a printer right away. Also, the port for the USB cord is unique in that, to fit most cords, one must unscrew and remove a panel, plug in the the cord, slip the cord through a hole in the panel, slide it back in and insert the screw again. I was a bit frustrated by this; why couldn’t Epson simply make the panel accessible to all cords without the extra step?

So, the first thing I tested this with was printing photos. I had never done this before but it was easy. There are several ports in front of the Epson Stylus CX8400 for different camera cards. I personally have an XD memory card but many others are supported

• Compact Flash
• Microdrive
• Memory Stick
• MagicGate Memory Stick
• Memory Stick PRO
• SD
• SDHC
• MultiMediaCard

xD-Picture card (Type-M & Type-H)

Several other types of memory cards can be used with adapters

• Memory Stick PRO Duo
• MiniSD
• MiniSDHC
• MicroSD
• MicroSDHC
• Memory Stick Duo
• MagicGate Memory Stick Duo

Upon plugging in my memory card and pressing the button for “Memory Card” from the control panel and the printer took a short while to load all the photos; the LCD screen showers the status. Then I had the option to either View and Print Photos, Print All Photos, Print by Date or Print Index Sheet. Each option has a small description and most of them are common sense.

Printing an index sheet may be a function unique to Epson printers or it may be something most photos printers allow but I can see how it would be useful. It allows you to print off small thumbnails of all the pictures on a card, 30 to a page. Then, you can mark the photos you want to print, scan the index sheet and the Epson Stylus CX8400 Color All-in-One Printer will print them.

I cannot see myself using this feature much, however. Even with less than 500 photos on my picture card, I would need to wait for 16 pages to print. Furthermore, I’d rather save that ink for the actual photos! Plus, I think it would take just as much time, if not more, as going through all the photos (It seemed to take about a minute to print 4 pages before I gave up on it and canceled), which is one of my concerns.

There does not appear to be an option for viewing more than one photo at a time when working with a picture card. The Epson Stylus CX8400 Color All-in-One Printer only allows me to view 1 at a time so, to find the picture I want to print, I need to go through all of the pictures on my picture card. While this is slightly annoying with my older, smaller card, my current one has 700+ photos and I haven’t even filled it!

Unfortunately, the dates on my pictures cards are never right and I don’t pay attention to when I take photos, anyway. I don’t see myself using that feature of the Epson Stylus CX8400 Color All-in-One Printer. However, it could be useful to someone else.

It’s also unrealistic for me to print all my photos at this point. However, with a newer card with less photos or a smaller card, this may work great!

I had purchased a 100 pack of Epson’s Premium Photo Paper Glossy for a reasonable price, slipped it into the loading tray and adjusted the feeder guard so all I needed to do was adjust the photo for printing after I located the one I wanted.

The Menu button allows me to easily change settings such as paper size and type, border, quality and date. When selecting a photo, pressing Display/Crop shows settings for zooming, rotation and portion of the photo to print. Of course, the ratio for my photos is 3:4 where as the ratio of the paper (4 x 6′) is 2:3 which means the photo needs to be cropped. However, this isn’t a large deal.

After zooming, rotating and move the guide, I’m ready to hit Okay. If I make a mistake, it can easily be undone by pressing Back. When the picture if perfect, press Okay twice then hit the Print button. It’s all really easy.

It does take a while to print photos but I can’t complain because the quality is extremely nice. The photos I have printed thus far all look much better than almost any picture I’ve taken with a traditional film camera! If you didn’t know

The Epson Stylus CX8400 Color All-in-One Printer promises to be smudge proof and scratch resistance and while the latter isn’t quite as true as I’d like, the photos are smudge proof which is probably good for someone like me! The ink is also apparently fade and water resistant and I even went to far as to mist a print out with water; the claims are true! I’ll have to wait and see how well the ink holds up to time but I have high hopes!

I took the copy function for a test drive as well. After inserting the page to copy in the scanner, I selected the Copy button from the Epson Stylus CX8400 Color All-in-One Printer‘s control panel. There were options to adjust paper size, type and colour along with a few additional options. After adjusting until I was content, I pressed the print button and my copy began. I found the actual copying of a B&W document to print quite slow, as it seems is the case with this printer.

After purchasing a UBS cord, I was able to install the printer drivers and software. This process did seem to take an awful lot of memory and it hung at several places but installation completed without any major problems. Along with the drivers, the installation includes Epson Scan (scanning software), ArcSoft PhotoImpression (for photo editing), Arcsoft Print Creations (for making print projects like calendars), and software for monitoring the Epson Stylus CX8400 Color All-in-One Printer such as a users guide.

I tested the other functions. As a printer, the Epson Stylus CX8400 Color All-in-One Printer worked well. The text document I printed was high quality. Oddly enough, the black and white document seemed to take longer to print than any of the other types of printing (photo, index sheet) and it was a bit jerky but it wasn’t anything that would bother me in the long run.

The scanning function works well. I scanned some comic covers for my husband and it was easy and the scan was high quality. The scanner itself shows where to line up the document clearly (bottom, right). The scanner warms up quickly and the scanning itself is much faster than any scanner I’ve used before. The only large issue I have is that the scanner itself is quite small; the width is only slightly more than a standard letter sized sheet so this won’t work well for some projects.

I’ve used the scanner with both Windows scanning utility and Epson scan, the software provided, which has several modes: Full Auto, Home and Professional. The auto mode crops the scan without showing a preview and automatically saves scans to the “My Pictures” folder so I prefer to use the Home Mode which lets me select the type of document, colour, destination (also where you change the DPI) and preview before scanning. Professional mode has more specific options which are beyond my need including document type and source, exposure, image type, resolution, and further adjustments like tone, image adjustment, dust removal, backlight correction, descreening et cetera.

To sum it up, this is a sleek looking printer with many functions I shall find useful. I was impressed by the memory card feature although it would be improved by an option to view several photos at once. For those who need a similar feature, the option to print an index sheet might work well. Photos printed with excellent quality! The scanner was fast and high quality and worked well with Epson Scan or the Windows Scanning Utility. Printing and copying of black and white documents took longer than I expected but the quality was, again, top notch! The ink is very durable proving to be smudge and water and, hopefully over time, fade resistant; however, the photos were not as scratch proof as I would have liked. The accompanying software is a nice touch for anyone who does not already have photo editing software and the monitoring and scanning software by Epson was functional withuot hogging a lot of resources.

Overall, the Epson Stylus CX8400 Color All-in-One Printer is a great model for anyone looking for an affordable printer with extras. If you don’t mind waiting for high quality prints or paging through individual pictures, this might be the printer for you!