Review: Able Planet TL300 Clear Voice Headset

So I’ve had the chance to use the Able Planet TL300 Clear Voice Headset for a few weeks now and am very impressed. The audio from the headset is remarkably clear- thanks to patented LINX AUDIO™ technology. The ear cups are comfortable enough to wear for extended periods of time and the headband is wide enough that it doesn’t dig into your head or slip off. I found the sound quality from the TL300 to be good enough to listen to music with.

The microphone is infinitely adjustable positionwise; I had someone on the phone with me talk me through it to find the position that sounded best on the other side of the call. For my speaking style it was clearest when the mic was furthest away from my mouth. There is an in-line volume control for quick and easy level adjustment.

At first I figured the TL300 Headset would be ideal for someone who spends a significant portion of their day on the phone in a work situation. And it probably is. It would also be ideal if you use your computer to make calls or do online voice chatting of some sort via Gmail Chat or any other application. But lately I’ve find the ideal application for me; for use with Rosetta Stone. The program is interactive and requires you to both listen and speak the words presented. Using just the internal microphone on the computer let me to be repeating the words over and over, louder each time before the program would recognize it as correct. Then I got the TL300 to review and I’ve started to use it instead and the results have been much better. My Spanish is still pretty bad, but that really has nothing to do with the program or the headset.

In summary- the Able Planet TL300 does exactly what it’s supposed to do- give you high quality sound from a lightweight headset. It’s priced relatively comparable to other high-end headsets, so this Craziest Gadgets review is a RECOMMEND.

buy at Able Planet or Amazon

Book Review: The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive

I was given a copy of the just released book The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive to review because they thought my readers might be interested in it and darnit they were right. Here’s a three word summary review for you: “Cool Book. Buy.” First of all, I have to believe that the author, John Graham-Cumming, chose to include 128 places because of the number 128’s geeky significance.

The book covers 128 places in about 20 countries around the globe with heavy emphasis placed on those in the United States and the United Kingdom. Each destination is separated into three sections. The first gives you the background information on who or what significant scientific event or breakthrough takes place in the location specified. Most places have multiple photographs of the person or location. The second section entitled “Practical Information” gives you a quick overview of what you as a visitor can expect to see, usually with a website address provided so you can look up visiting hours, etc. The third section is for the uber geek- it’s the real science behind the location. Here’s where you’ll find diagrams and equations and formulas behind the science.

The type of places listed in the book are not your everyday well known science sites. You won’t find the Wright Brothers and Kitty Hawk in here. Instead you’ll get the Glenn H. Curtis Museum and learn about the man who was the fastest motorcyclist on earth in 1907, was issued pilot license #1 and provided one of the first public flight demonstrations unlike the Wrights who flew in secrecy. This is followed by a page on the science behind flight. There are many many other sites like this listed such as the Horn Antenna in New Jersey where the Big Bang Theory was confirmed, a leper colony in Hawaii, an early television museum, nuclear test sites and many more.

The Geek Atlas is listed as a travel guide, and in many ways it is. You could go and visit all the sites in the book and many people will want to do just that. But for the rest of us, we can live vicariously through the explorations of others and the book is an easy (yet challenging with the technical sections) and interesting read; a great way to learn about the lesser known but more interesting pieces of our science, mathematics, and technological history. It goes beyond just the where, to give you the who, what and the how.

Coghlan’s Cooler Light: Review

So I finally broke out the cooler from the basement and was able to test out the Cooler Light Flashlight from Coghlan’s and the verdict is in: this cooler light is a cool light. It’s a very lightweight LED light that attaches to your cooler lid. When you open the lid, the light automatically goes on.

You might question the utility of such a device but here’s a real situation where I found it useful: a party outdoors at night, not the best lit, but lit. When I bent over to pick out my choice of fine alcoholic beverages, I had to contort myself slightly to see inside the cooler since I was creating a shadow of darkness over the cooler itself. Without the Cooler Light I would have been forced to pick a beer at random and might have gotten stuck with “the beast”. With the Cooler Light I was able to quickly locate the superior beer.
The light attaches to the underside of your cooler’s lid via adhesive tape behind the white portion of the gadget. This means that if you want to detach it and move it to another cooler you will need to supply more double sided tape. Being very light, the Cooler Light stuck on securely to the dry lid of my cooler. The light works in such a way that when it’s moved from horizontal to vertical by lifting the lid, the light goes on for 20 seconds before fading out. If you need more time, just open and close the lid quickly for another light cycle. It’s important to note that you must have the right style lid as a “lunchbox” or house-shaped cooler lid will not hit the right angles for the light to go on.

The Cooler Light could actually be used for more than just coolers. Any type of box with a lifting lid would work fine- a chest, toolbox, tacklebox, toybox, or trunk. Good for camping or fishing. I’m not sure if it’s robust enough to handle road vibrations but it might work as a trunk light for an old (or cheap) car that doesn’t have one. The Cooler Light runs on 3 watch batteries (included). Cool summer gadget.