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1. Use my iPhone for email / surfing and buy lots of extra SD cards for photos so that I won't need to continually empty one or two to make room for more pix. I scratched this idea because using the touch keyboard on the iPhone will get old really fast with the number of emails I write every day. Surfing on the iPhone wouldn't be bad, but I'd prefer a bigger screen. As for digital images, there will be three of us on this trip, so I figure we really should have a backup, just to be safe.

2. Use my Centro for email / surfing and buy lots of extra SD cards. Ditched this idea for the same reason I ditched the iPhone idea.

3. Use my Macbook Pro like I usually do on trips. Ummmm, nope. It's too bulky and I want to travel a little smaller and lighter for this trip.

4. Buy lots of SD cards and don't check email or surf for 6 days. ACK! This would probably cause me to die a slow painful death. Nuff said.

5. Buy a 2-3lb UMPC / Netbook / Sub-notebook / whatever the heck you want to call them. I've decided to go with this solution for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's a great excuse to buy a new toy to play with. Secondly, it's a good excuse to buy a new toy to play with. :o)

Tiny laptops aren't new to me. I had bought myself one of the ASUS Eee PCs (701) but the tiny display and cramped keyboard caused me to turn my nose up at it and give it to Claire to review for me. I can be lazy that way ;o) Then I had the opportunity to review the HP Mini-note and really loved it, but had to send it back once the review was complete. I had briefly considered buying a MacBook Air, but they are way over priced and under powered, so it was a fleeting thought.

I ended up deciding on the MSI Wind netbook, but had a really hard time finding one with a 6 cell battery in stock. Even the 3 cell model is super hard find right now, but I lucked out and found a Black one (I really wanted plain White. Not the dorky White one with hearts...) with a 3 cell battery and a 120GB hard drive last night. I've ordered it and a 1GB RAM card to upgrade it to 2GB. Both should be here tomorrow. Yay! Now I will have lots of time before my trip to set it up the way I like. I'm even going to try putting OS X on it :o)

PrismaStar® Debuts Next-Generation Camera Selector at Mology.com

Revolutionary Product Search Tool is World’s First to Mimic Human Decision Making

CHICAGO . PrismaStar Software, dedicated to helping consumers make Better, Faster Decisions, announced today the US debut of the Mology™ camera selector (www.mology.com). The Mology Website is powered by AnswerOil®, an award-winning, patent-pending product search technology that allows shoppers to rank the importance of any product feature or specification. By simulating the natural give-and-take of human decision-making, AnswerOil makes it easy to dynamically evaluate the trade-offs of real-world decisions, for the first time putting shoppers in complete control of their product search. The result is unprecedented levels of confidence that the chosen product reflects the best possible balance of price, features and availability.

Because the powerful AnswerOil technology can be used for virtually any product or service decision, the Camera Selector will be only the first of many selectors at Mology.com. Later this year, PrismaStar plans to announce several new product and service selectors on Mology, as well as a very unique feature that will allow users of Mology to create their own personalized selectors to use AnswerOil to help them make virtually any decision.

Retailers and service providers can harness the power of AnswerOil for their own e-commerce websites too; the launch of Mology follows hot on the heels of PrismaStar’s most recent client signing, Jessops (www.jessops.com), the largest photographic retailer in the UK, which launched its camera selector on July 11, 2008. Previously, AnswerOil was implemented at 123Shop, a camera retailer in the Czech Republic (http://www.fotoplaneta.cz), which resulted in a twofold increase in their sales conversion rates.

“The ratio of visits to orders placed has doubled and user feedback is also assuring us that we hit the mark,” says Pavel Včíslo, Director of Sales, 123shop.cz. “Potential customers going through the decision-making process are frustrated by the difficulty of finding relevant and accurate product information. The AnswerOil Product Selection Engine is our response to this problem. The system makes it significantly faster and easier for a shopper to find and choose the best camera for them.”

For more information regarding PrismaStar’s innovative product search and consumer guidance technology, please visit www.PrismaStar.com.

About Mology™ and AnswerOil Mology is the place where Techthusiasts™ (technology enthusiasts) find and discuss the latest products. The site will feature a huge range of product selectors, the option for users to create their own selectors, and social networking and forums for people to discuss, review and recommend the latest gadgets. The Beta version of the site launched in August, 2008 featuring a digital camera selector.

Mology is powered by the patent-pending AnswerOil® product search technology which has been proven to increase sales conversion rates, enhance the customer shopping experience, and also provides unique market research analytics to retailers showing not only WHAT their customers are buying, but also exactly WHY. AnswerOil is a turnkey solution that is quickly and easily integrated into any website, kiosk, or mobile application.

For more information on how to integrate AnswerOil into your e-commerce or financial services website, please visit www.AnswerOil.com.

About PrismaStar®, LLC Headquartered in Chicago and with offices in Cambridge, UK and Prague, CZ, PrismaStar Software (www.PrismaStar.com) is a pioneer of product search and consumer guidance technology employing inspired Techthusiasts™ (technology enthusiasts) to help consumers make Better, Faster Decisions. The company was founded in January 2005 by Joshua Z. Tabin, former CEO of Tabin Corporation.

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NextWorth Announces Easy Upgrade Program for Owners of First Generation Apple iPhonesTM, Offering Cash Back to Completely Cover Upgrade to 3G Model

Service simplifies trade-in process, providing customers an easy way to upgrade and enough trade-in cash to purchase the 3G iPhoneTM

(Lawrence, MA – August 26, 2008) — NextWorth, a leading player in consumer electronic upgrades and trade-ins, announces its new trade-in service for first generation iPhonesTM, providing enough trade-in cash to fully cover an upgrade to the 3G iPhoneTM1. Simple and quick, the service essentially offers existing iPhone customers a free upgrade to the 3G model.

"As the demand for the first generation iPhone in secondary markets remains strong, we are able to offer higher dollar exchanges and remove the price issue from the decision to upgrade to a 3G iPhone," said Dave Chen, CEO of NextWorth. "We're taking advantage of this unique spike in market values and passing the dollars back to consumers, making the upgrade process as fast and easy as possible."

NextWorth customers can receive up to $200 for a 1G iPhone 8GB in "light wear" condition, or $300 for a 16GB. With current 3G iPhone pricing at $199 or $299, trade-in amounts will fully cover, or nearly cover, the cost of the upgrade. Phones given as trade-ins in any condition will be refurbished and resold by NextWorth, thereby promoting reuse, while hard-worn or broken devices will either be sold in parts or disposed of through a certified recycling partner.

Trading in an old iPhone is simple, with current market values and the condition of the device determining the trade-in value. NextWorth customers visit www.NextWorth.com, enter the model and condition of the iPhone and a value is calculated based on the entered condition. If customers accept this value and proceed, a box is sent to the customer to return the iPhone to NextWorth. Once received, NextWorth examines the product, verifies the estimate and sends the customer a certified check. Alternatively, if customers prefer to lock in the price in exchange for a gift card, they can bring in their iPhone to a participating retail store for instant credit.

The iPhone trade-in service is available now through www.NextWorth.com, where a customer can expect to receive a check in as little as seven to 14 days, or at participating Circuit City and J&R Computer World stores for immediate in-store credit. For a list of participating retailers or more information on NextWorth, please visit the company Web site. In addition to iPhone trade-ins, NextWorth also offers trade-in services for iPods.

To receive the full value quoted, iPhones must be in "light wear" condition, with no visible scratches on the screen with all of the original accessories included. Trades are also accepted for more heavily worn and broken iPhones as well. Prices are adjusted dynamically according to market conditions and are subject to change.

About NextWorth
Headquartered in Lawrence, Massachusetts, NextWorth is a leading player in consumer electronic upgrades and trade-ins. NextWorth helps people Stop Depreciation™ by facilitating the sale and trade-in process for such leading products as iPod and iPhone online and through select retailers. NextWorth strives to create hassle-free, high value exchanges to ease the upgrade process for consumers. For more information on NextWorth and their services visit http://www.NextWorth.com.

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They sent me one of their Elite series Green lasers (model #EL81033). I knew this wouldn't be a ordinary laser like I've reviewed in the past, because they also included a pair of Red goggles along with the laser.

The Elite laser is about 6 inches long, with a body made of chrome finished Brass. It runs on 2 AAA batteries (not included) and has a momentary on/off button on the barrel.

The first time I loaded in some batteries, pointed it on the opposite wall of my office and pressed the power button, I was like WHOA! The dot that this laser produces is big and freakishly bright. I immediately put on the goggles for subsequent testing.

I decided to see just how powerful this little handheld light saber really was and pointed it about an inch away from a wooden ruler on my desk. I held it there for about 15 seconds before I started smelling smoke. When I turned off the laser and pulled off the goggles, I saw a tiny burned dot on the ruler. Very cool and also very scary!

If you're in the market for professional quality powerful lasers, Wicked Lasers is definitely the place to go. But my question to all of you out there, is this: besides getting into dangerous mischief, what other uses are these types of powerful lasers good for? Do you think they should be sold to Joe Public?

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