Smarterware

Repurpose Your Old iPod into a Travel Backup Drive

Over at Lifehacker this morning I had the chance to do a navel-gazing tour through my laptop bag and show off all the stuff I take with me when I travel. The only truly unusual item I carry is the first iPod I ever bought, back in 2003--a 20GB second-generation brick of a thing. The battery can no longer hold a charge long enough to serve as a portable music player, but it works just fine plugged in as a hard drive, so I use it as a backup drive while I'm on the road for more than a few days.

I hadn't taken this iPod out of its iSkin in years and looked at just how clunky it really is. Here are some more photos of this antique. (I really wasn't kidding about that whole Last Year's Model thing.)

Flaunt Last Year’s Model This Earth Day (and Every Day)

When you love technology, it's natural to lust after the latest gadgets and gear available on the market, even if what you've got already does everything you need. But if you decide not to give in and get that iPhone 3G or netbook, you can feel like you've fallen behind, like you're being cheap, like you're missing out. Truth is, passing on buying the newest model is a decision to brag about.

So I'm thrilled that my pal Anil Dash launched a new site this Earth Day called Last Year's Model, where technophiles can take pride in sticking with the gear they already own, even if it's been around for a year or two (or seven). While I'm guilty of running on the gadget consumer treadmill myself (Android phone and Kindle, anyone?), I'm happy that I've passed on the latest MacBook, a netbook, the Wii, and the iPhone 3G. Join me, will you? Tweet or blog a testimonial to the trusty gadget you passed on upgrading and include the #lastyears hash tag to get included on the site. See Anil's full announcement for more on Last Year's Model.

The Netbook Models You Love (And Don’t)

Cheap and tiny netbook computers are so very tempting in this crappy economy, since they promise the full computing experience in a compact, throw-in-your-messenger-bag package for less than $400. The idea of a netbook got under my skin because I want a light computer for traveling that can live in the kitchen and living room for cooking and couch-surfing when I'm home. In the throes of my netbook lust, recently I asked my Twitter followers if they had a netbook and if it was worth it. That tweet drew a whopping 243 passionate replies.

Most people said they LOVED! LOVED! LOVED! their netbook, and many said they make great gifts for teens, parents, and spouses who don't need a beefy system. Some complained about the tiny keyboard and screen, short battery life, and lack of performance. Of all the netbook owners who identified which models they owned (77), the ASUS Eee PC was the most popular (33 owners), followed by the Acer Aspire (17), then the Dell Mini 9 (9) and Samsung NC10 (8). Here's the full breakdown, in pretty colors--green for pros, and red for cons.

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The Kindle Adds to, But Doesn’t Replace, Your Book Collection

Amazon's announcement of the Kindle 2 e-reader has book-lovers in a tizzy again, wondering how anyone could give up timeless paper-based books for the electronic version. Thing is, no one has to give up anything. I've got shelves of books and a Kindle, and I'm reading more than ever--mostly because of the Kindle.

Someone who's never actually read a book on the Kindle focuses on the things you can't do with it. Your favorite author can't autograph a book on the Kindle. You can't dog-ear pages. (Though you can virtually bookmark pages on the Kindle, the autograph point is true.)

But that same someone is often surprised by the stuff you can do with a Kindle book. When you encounter a word you haven't seen before, you can look it up in the built-in dictionary in two clicks. (As a vocabulary nerd, this is the feature I love most.) You can highlight sections of the book as you read which get saved to a text file on the device. Then you can import the text of those paragraphs to your computer for stowing away in your favorite note-taking application or to include in your book journal or blog review.

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