Unfortunately, not all product reviews can be great reviews. Sometimes they’re just average. Such is the case with the Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale by EatSmart.

I must start off by saying that this scale does have some good features;

Most importantly, the scale does work. We tested the tare function with both a coffee mug and bowl, plus the addition/subtraction of various liquids and food solids. No issues, and measurements were always accurate.

We also tested various food substances with pre-set weight measurements (as stated on the food’s package), and the scale held up to its claim of being accurate to +-1 gram. For example, a 28-gram square of baking chocolate was indeed 28 grams according to the scale.

So for these reasons, I think the product does the job as intended and for that I give it a “Fair” rating.

It also comes with a Calorie Factor book which helps users quickly calculate the calories in many common foods with the use of the scale. A bit gimmicky for my tastes, but still helpful if you’re into that sort of thing. I also like the variety of color options (available in white, red, silver and white chrome).

What keeps me from giving this scale a “Great” review is the quality and price.

After handling the product, several of my fellow testers (friends who happened to be at the house that day) commented that it looked and felt a bit cheap, and questioned the long-term durability. It’s very light and all components appear to be made of lower-grade plastic – even the top “chrome” weighing portion of the scale, which I normally see as being made of glass or stainless steel.

For $44.95 (regular price), I would expect higher-quality craftsmanship. Even at the current sale price of $25, I still think it’s too high a price to pay. Perhaps my aesthetic expectations are too high, but each of the 4 testers echoed the same sentiments. I’m also not absolutely confident that it would hold up to vigorous or long-term use, though I would need to test it for much longer in order to accurately state that.

In summary, the product worked as intended, so if you’re mostly concerned with function and need a basic kitchen scale, the Eatsmart Precision Pro does the trick. If you’re like myself and expect a bit more for your money, you may be slightly disappointed.

EatSmart Precision Pro

I recently had a chance to review the Cooler Light from Coghlan’s – a single LED light that attaches to the underside of your cooler’s lid and illuminates the contents when open.

Pretty neat, huh? I mean, how many times have you sat around the campfire, gone to the cooler to grab a drink and suddenly realized you can’t see what’s inside? Ya, we’ve all been there.

Anyway, the Cooler Light is really easy to set-up:

That’s it. From there, the simple motion achieved by opening the lid will cause the light to come on. The light is soft but focused and shuts off after 20 seconds (even if the lid is still open) to help preserve the batteries – which are included, a definite plus.

The Experiment:
I enlisted 5 of my closest male friends (who all thought it was a cool gadget, btw) and all the beer we could carry for a full weekend of boating and testing.

Over the course of the weekend, the cooler was opened over 80 times, I kept count as much as I could. There were a few instances where the light flickered a bit, but the majority of the time it worked without incident – providing just enough light to see the contents, without being overly harsh on the eyes. It’s also water-resistant and you can use it on coolers with hinged or flat lids.

The Verdict:
I can’t vouch for how long the batteries would last with prolonged use, or what the effects of constant motion (walking with the cooler, having it move around in a boat, etc) would do to the battery life – I’d probably need a full summer of testing to get a true idea.

But for the few days we tested it, and for just under $10, it’s a great little gadget, works well, and adds some convenience to your life when partying at night.

Coghlan’s Cooler Light

Makers of the Neater Feeder recently sent us a model to try out. This practical feeding system is designed to contain food and water splashes while separating spilled water from food in one compact unit. Given that my dog is prone to serious splashes and all-out warfare on his kibble, I eagerly gave it a try.

I even placed it on my beautiful new hardwood floors, which just about gave me a panic attack, but hey – all in the name of testing.

The two-part system works by channeling spilled water through a sloped filter and into a lower reservoir, so any spilled water stays clean and doesn’t wind up all over your floor, causing a potential hazard or water damage to floors & walls over time. It’s also meant to be more sanitary, since your pet isn’t lapping up discarded water from the floor, which could carry harmful debris and bacteria.

If your pet knocks out some kibble from the bowl, the unit’s protective walls and filter are designed to contain it, which means spilled food stays dry and can be reused or picked up and thrown away more easily.

After a week of testing, I’m happy to report the Neater Feeder does work. I gave it a few good kicks (the kind that would occur if you accidentally bumped it) and the spilled water stayed within the unit. I was pretty surprised, since I didn’t exactly go easy on the thing.

There was one instance where a piece of my dog’s kibble wound up in the adjacent water bowl, but I can’t really blame the Feeder for that, since my dog charges at his food at 90 mph. The only way to remedy that problem would be to place the bowls several feet apart, and that would make for awful design! But otherwise, most of his food remained in the feeding dish, and any food that did happen to pop out of the bowl was indeed caught by the unit’s filter.

I especially liked the quality of the materials and non-skid base, which really helped to keep the Neater Feeder in place.

The Neater Feeder was even sent to the U.S. Presidential Office for Bo to test out. No word yet on what the Obama’s think, but we give it two paws up.

Neater Feeder

The folks at Volkswagen have come up with a clever way to spread the word about the new Golf GTI ahead of its May 22 U.K. launch.

Enter the GTI Project, an online game complete with virtual workshops and a Scalextric track inside a hangar. Now you can test drive a 1:43 scale Golf GTI via your mouse or keyboard!

I chose my index finger and suddenly I was off to the races, trying my best to corner tight spaces and applying my “mouse brakes” at just the right moment. At one point I actually felt a bit foolish cause I could sense my heart pounding and index finger popping like it was a life or death situation.

Alas, I never made it to the finish line. After my third crash, I was promptly given the boot by the Project’s chief engineer for butchering his baby. Whoever designed this was not only creative, but has a wicked sense of humor too.

As part of the GTI Project, you can:

I gotta hand it to VW for finding a smart, funny way of getting the facts across. If you’re in the market for a new vehicle, the GTI Project is one option worth checking out. I give it two index fingers up.

Use the GPS Ranger: To track your vehicles … Or your children

Do you wonder where your employees take your vehicles, or where your teenage child has taken your car? Are you looking to increase the efficiency of your vehicles? Do you wonder why your company car has an extra 60 miles a week or why your employees are taking longer than needed for travel? Are you worried that your kid may be skipping school, or want to keep track of them after school?

Well GPS Ranger, from Quino may be the solution for you.

This device, about the size of a deck of cards and weighs as much as a cell phone, enables you to log the travel history of vehicles, equipment or people on the move. It is a transparent device, which can be mounted in the trunk, glove compartment, under the seat, anywhere outside or inside a car. It could also be used for equipment tracking.

You can then remove the device from the vehicle and then download the location, time and speed information on to your PC for analysis. Route and stop information can then be displayed using Google earth.

Some of the key features of it include: Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven’t heard by now, Netflix is the DVD rental standard that brings DVDs right to your door and has eliminated the late fees and driving.  A small monthly fee is all that’s required to reach their huge DVD selection (over 100,000) and you keep the movie as long as you want.  But, if you just can’t wait, you have the option to, on demand, stream movies right to your computer.  This may satisfy certain customer but, you can’t watch them on your living room TV unless you own a Home Theater PC.  Entry the stand alone, $99 Roku Digital Video Player.

Hardware:

Lets start with the Hardware.  You get all the bells and whistles that a video player would offer today.  Nothing over the top here but, note the size and weight of the Roku.  The small footprint and weight make it a travel option.  Take it on the next business trip or family vacation and have instant access to your Netflix library…  assuming you have Internet access.  On the downside, it’s not the nicest looking electronic device in the world.  I own an Apple TV as well and Read the rest of this entry »

Socket Sense is an innovative and elegant solution to a nagging problem in our gadget world, “big” AC power adapters.

Does it work?

I got a chance to put the Socket Sense to test.  Underneath my desk, I have a ton of AC adapters.  I needed 2 power strips to accommodate all my AC adapters.  With the Socket Sense sockets expanded, I was able to fit all my AC adapters onto the Socket Sense power strip.

As you can see, I have the power strip fully expanded and the sockets ingeniously align in a diagonal position, allowing more real estate for the AC adapters.  I have a couple of pretty wide AC adapters and they fit just fine onto the fully expanded Socket Sense power strip.  It works like a charm.

Some of the nice touches I like is the long cord (6ft) and the plastic packaging.  I like the fact that I can open the packaging without using scissor or razor knife.  It comes pre-cut (perforated) in the back of the packaging.

Although this power strip comes with wall mount keyhole slots, I’m not sure if it’s useful since this is an expandable power strip.

Features

• Fully Adjustable Sockets
• 2160 Joules of Surge Protection
• Six Foot Power Cord
• Power Switch with 15A Breaker
• Surge and Ground LEDs
• Cable Management Channels
• Metal Oxide Varistor Components
• Keyholes for Wall Mounting
• Limited 5 year warranty against defects

Conclusion

Yes, we see power strips on the market which provide wider gaps in between sockets, but they are either bulky, limited sockets and/or create more tangles.  e.g. the PowerSquid Outlet Multiplier
The Socket Sense Power Strip provides unique “expandable” feature and it works as advertised.

Socket Sense SS1650W-06 Expanding 6 Outlet Surge Protector

For more detail and see it in action, check out the manufacturer site.

What no beige?

No grey?

Finally, some design engineer was thinking outside the box !

This is a sleek all black design with rounded edges that actually looks good on my desk ….oh and its compact so it fits on my desk too.

How it ships

Here is a Pic of the stuff right out of the box

Quite a bit of stuff is included with the WorkForce 600 including Ethernet cable, power cable, driver/software disc, user manuals, sample paper, phone cable and of course the printer cartridges. I must point out that the cartridges are full carts, not half full etc..

Also, the black cart is double size which makes perfect sense.

No USB cable though, everything else is included, why not complete the kit and throw in a USB cable? Not such a huge deal though given the fact that it is WiFi enabled.

Setup

I generally don’t like reading manuals, and was able to get the whole thing going in under 10 minutes using the (very thorough) quick setup guide.

I have read some horror stories from other reviews online that it took them hours to install all the software and drivers. I circumvented the process by going to the Epson website and downloading the latest version of their software without all the extras. Here is the link:

Here are some pix illustrating the very straightforward networking install process. Read the rest of this entry »