..it’s perhaps a bit of an overstatement, the title of this blog post that is. It should be something like “items that make life a lot better or easier”, in my humble opinion!<\/p>\n
Via Spence<\/a>, I appear to have been caught by yet another meme thing. Since Spence’s replies didn’t include humans, I can only imagine that I have to choose a handful of techie objects<\/strong>. <\/p>\n Who’s next? Alan<\/a>, Granville<\/a>, Gary<\/a> and Liam<\/a>. I wonder if there are “meme police” who go around checking to see who keeps these memes going and who is killing them off? As I write this, I decide to go for a quick search, and guess what I find? Well I never<\/a>. Bang goes another great idea<\/em>. Back to the drawing board for me, ho hum.<\/p>\n My answers?<\/strong> Shouldn’t be too hard, here we go, a few of the techie things that make my lifer better or easier:<\/p>\n MP3 Player\/Podcaster<\/strong> Headset<\/strong> Record Cards (aka Index Cards)<\/strong> Microsoft Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000<\/strong>
\nMy recent spate of podcasting has proven rather addictive, so I’d have to say that I must have<\/strong> my podcasting kit. At the moment, I’m using an iRiver H300, 20GB, colour screen, external mic, USB 1.1 host and USB 2.0 device connections – it’s a pretty good unit. It’s hard to get my precise model<\/a> here in the UK, but there are similar available – note that the H10 shown below requires a cradle if you want to use external microphone option. If you are thinking about podcasting, an external microphone is a must – there’s a pretty good search facility that will help you find such a device over here<\/a>. Further good advice, via the chaps at NxtGenUG<\/a> can be found here<\/a> (includes a link to their podcast!)<\/p>\n
\nYou might begin to think that there’s a theme here, but no, there’s not. I use Skype – having a good set of headphones+mic is essential for me<\/strong>. I use a USB 2.0 Plantronics unit, cost a lot a year or so ago, doesn’t cost so much now. It’s a tidy unit, lots of folding bits so it fits into a nice little carry bag which is ideal for transporting alongside the laptop and all it’s bits. <\/p>\n
\nHah, I hear you say, they’re not a techie gadget thing. True enough, but since I’m rarely without a small pile of record cards (held together using a small clip), they are pretty much essential for my operation<\/strong>. Trust me<\/a> – there are<\/a> many famous names who do likewise<\/a>. Check out this video<\/a> if you more convincing. And if you want a bit of a laugh, here’s another video<\/a>!<\/p>\n
\nAs I noted here<\/a>, this mouse\/presenter combo is rather neat. Whilst I haven’t used it in anger yet, I expect it to be “right up there” on this list.<\/p>\n