http://thewirecutter.com/2012/04/do…tuff-right-now/

This article talks about the timing of purchasing electronics – there’s always a cycle, and timing the cycle will get you the best products for your dollar. Sometimes that means buying at the end of a cycle, to save money, and other times it means holding off purchasing until the start of a new cycle so you can get the newest technology. Myself, I’m waiting for the release of the Panasonic VT50, a TV that was announced at CES to rave reviews. I’ve set aside money to make the purchase, and am patiently waiting for it to be released (should be any time now).

On the other hand, I per-ordered an HP Envy Spectre 14 the first week it was announced, knowing full well that Ivy Bridge would be coming out soon – I just wasn’t expecting it to happen within 60 days of me getting my new laptop (HP just announced two new Envy laptops). Ultimately the new Envy laptops don’t have the same screen resolution or features as mine, so my laptop wasn’t replaced, but at the back of my mind I do wonder if I mis-timed the purchase…

http://lifehacker.com/5908682/how-t…y-for-non+geeks

“So you’ve created a kickass, play-anything media center with XBMC, but it’s a too hard for your less tech-savvy friends and family members to use. Here are a few ways to make your home theater PC so easy that your four year old could use it.”

XBMC is a powerful media platform, but it’s not always the easiest thing to use – especially for the “regular” types of users who weren’t the ones to set it up in the first place. This article walks you through some of the ways to optimize the whole experience. Worth a read!

http://lifehacker.com/5907028/share…-setup-required

“If you have more than one computer at your workspace, ShareMouse will let you control them all with a single keyboard and mouse, as well as copy and paste text between them and drag files back and forth.”

If you’re looking for a simpler way to use a single mouse and keyboard across multiple computers, and found Synergy a little too hard to set up, ShareMouse is worth a look!

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d800-d800e/

“When the Nikon D800 was announced, the specification that got everyone’s attention was – and to a large degree still is – the massive pixel count of its 36.3MP CMOS sensor. When a moderately-sized full-frame DSLR body aspires to go toe-to-toe with medium format cameras and backs at a fraction of their price, other attributes can seem secondary.”

DPReview.com has reviewed the D800, and what can I say? It’s a phenomenal camera. The 36 megapixel sensor is truly state of the art, and the camera built around it is no slouch either. If you ask me, this is the FX and DX camera of the moment. Shoot it at 36 megapixel for class-leading resolution, or downsize it to 12 megapixels to exceed the D700′s performance. Shoot at 15.3 megapixel for a DX crop that beats the D7000. Now, if only I can find the money for it somehow. On a more curious note, I wonder why DPReview upsampled the Canon 5DIII files instead of downsampling the D800 files; usually that makes the image that is being upsampled look a lot worse. Still, great camera. Time to raid the piggy bank, I think.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/0…-compact-camera

“Olympus has announced the Tough TG-1 iHS, a high-end rugged, waterproof compact camera. The main selling point of the camera is its 25-100mm equivalant F2.0-4.9 zoom lens. The TG-1 is tougher than previous Tough models, being waterproof to 12m (40ft) and shockproof from a height of 2m (6.6ft) and will have optional waterproof fisheye and telephoto converter lenses available.”

What is iHS supposed to mean? Anyway, this is a new Tough camera with increased specifications from the previous models. In particular, the 4x 25mm-100mm equivalent f/2.0-4.9 zoom lens is faster than many other cameras in its class, especially at that wide end with the f/2.0 aperture. The camera has a 12 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor which is stabilised, a 3″ VGA OLED screen (but in Pentile layout), 1080p video mode coupled with a 10 FPS still shooting mode at full resolution or 60 FPS at 3 megapixel, and built-in GPS. As with a rugged camera, it features waterproofing and shockproofing. The camera also promises to feature AF technology from the PEN cameras, so hopefully it will be quick (I do suspect the technology is more on the software side). Oh and what modern Olympus camera is without the Art or Magic Filters? Available in June for US$400.