Nintendo’s Wii gaming system is like no other. While Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation focus on improved graphics and fast-paced action, the Wii focuses on fun.

The Wii’s graphics can’t compare to the graphics of the other new gaming systems, but once you start playing you get so caught up in the games that the graphics don’t matter. You see, when you play with the Wii, you don’t just move your thumbs. The motion sensitive wireless controller will have you out of your chair and moving about. You really get into the game.

The controller looks like a TV remote which you hold in your hand and move to perform certain functions. So to bowl, you actually go through the motions of throwing the bowling ball. In golf you swing the remote just like is a golf club. In Excite Truck, you turn and twist the remote to steer the truck. The remote comes with a wrist strap and I highly recommend that you tighten it around your wrist when you play to prevent accidental release.

One of the wonderful things about the Wii is that both the games and the way they are played are appealing to adults of all ages. I wouldn’t even consider taking on a twenty-something in a shoot-em-up game that requires finger dexterity. But I’d be happy to take them on in a game of Wii baseball or bowling.

TheWii game console itself is a small (1.75 inches by 6.25 inches by 8.5 inches), sleek white device. The console comes with everything you need to connect the Wii to your television. It has a wireless controller, a motion-sensitive nunchuk (secondary controller used in some games), a sensor bar that is set on top or in front of the television,  a cradle (for mounting the console vertically), the power adapter, and a set of composite A/V cables. The Wii Sports package with baseball, bowling, boxing, golf, and tennis, is also included.

Setup is simple. Follow the Quick Start guide to plug everything in. Then turn the TV to the proper input, like Video 2 or Video 3. (This will differ depending on which input you plugged the cables into.) The games come on a CD which is easily inserted into the game unit. If the game doesn’t start, it means that you inserted the CD in the wrong direction, as I did on my first try. Just press the eject button and insert with the CD facing the other direction. Software setup is fairly straightforward, like entering your name and choosing the number of opponents and difficulty of the game.

Wii has wireless network built-in. It can hook up to a secure WEP or WPA encrypted network or to a wired network with an optional adapter.

The Wii’s navigation is done through an interface that Nintendo calls “channels.”  There is a Weather channel, a News Channel and a Message Channel that can be used if the unit is hooked up to your Internet connection. There is also Mii Channel where you can customize your own Miis. These are the cute little roly-poly avatars that are used in many of the games. There is also a Photo Channel which can be used to view and edit photos. You can load up to 1,000 photos through the Wii’s SC card slot and can view them individually or in albums. You can also create a slideshow with music.

There are lots of accessories for the Wii and you may want to purchase a few of them. Although you can play many of the games alone, an extra remote is almost a necessity to really have fun with two players.

Games for the GameCube can also be played on the Wii, but they don’t take advantage of the Wii’s motion sending capabilities. To play them as you are used to, you may want to purchase a classic controller for the Wii.

Then, of course, you will want to buy some games. The has plethora of games including Nintendo classics like Zelda, Mario and others. In addition you can buy Wii Point Cards to purchase classic games like Alien Crush, Pinball, Poker, Sim City, and others. Hits from the Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 systems will also be available. If you remember playing asteroids or other retro games, you’ll love this feature.

This is a game system that will last. As game designers work with the Wii, they will find new and innovative ways to employ the systems motion-controlled interface. So there are sure to be many inventive new games in the future.

Many gamers will find the Wii’s pricing very attractive. The game console with everything you need to set it up and the Sports Package can be purchased for $199.

Nintendo Wii

Nintendo Wii Designed for kids ages five to 95, the revolutionary Nintendo Wii isn’t just a next-generation system it’s an all-generation system. The innovative minds at Nintendo discovered that the evolution of gaming has made video games very complex, and those who once enjoyed playing games with their entire families have become alienated. The Wii is pronounced “we” for a reason it symbolizes Nintendo’s driving philosophy: this system is for everyone. Whether you’re a hardcore gamer, a casual player or a grandparent who’d like to play a game with your grandchild, the Wii will provide you with a wondrous experience that returns gaming to simpler times while also defining a new age of game development. In addition to amazingly realistic next-generation graphics and a variety of outstanding titles to choose from, the true magic of the Wii starts right in the palm of your hand the controller. The unique Wii Remote controller is wireless and motion-sensitive, allowing you to use everyday motions to simulate the motions in your game. The Nunchuk controller attaches to the Wii Remote and uses an analog stick along with motion-sensing technology to assist in character movement. Imagine yourself in the thrilling world of Wii Sports, the awesome, action-packed sports game included with your Wii console. Using your Wii Remote controller, you’ll chase down powerful tennis serves, add touch to your golf swing to avoid tricky sand traps, overpower speeding fastballs to knock them out of the baseball park and more. The Wii Channel Menu, which is the first screen that will appear on your TV, provides a simple user interface that includes the Video Console Channel, News Channel, Forecast Channel, Photo Channel, Internet Channel, Wii Message Board and the Wii Shop Channel. Using the Mii Channel, you can even create playable caricatures of yourself called Miis that you can use in a variety of Wii applications. With an innovative motion-sensitive controller and the Wii Channel Menu, the Wii will truly make you feel less like just a player and more like you’re really part of the game. The Wii system has been wildly popular since its release. The Wii, the games, and the price are sure to appeal to the baby boomers whether they want to play alone or with the younger crowd. If you are into shoot-em up games and hard rock, look at a PS3 or an Xbox. If you want to taste some old-fashioned fun with a hi-tech twist, try the Wii. To see pictures and an even more detailed review, click over to Hardware Secrets.com.

Nokia, the world’s largest cell phone manufacturer is recalling about 14 million cell phone chargers. Charges involved in the recall are labeled AC-3U, AC-3E, or AC-4U. These chargers were manufactured between April 12th and October 15th of this year (2009).

The outer case of these chargers is defective and can open unexpectedly causing a shocking effect. If you think you may have one of these, head over to  chargerexchange.nokia.com and enter the details in the form provided. Nokia is offering a free replacement.

This Lexmark all-in-One printer is one of the new Internet-connected printers. Not only does it print, scan, and copy, but you can get the weather, your personal calendar, or stock information on its screen. You can print photos directly from a memory card. You can automate tasks like emailing a scanned document to a certain group of people. You can even use the printer’s screen like a digital picture frame to show off your photos. It can be set to automatically print on both sides of the paper.

The printer has the best touch screen that I’ve seen on a printer. It also had very good print quality and performs all functions more than adequately. So what’s not to like?  Well — I spent several hours on the phone with Lexmark tech support to get the printer set up and wound up with the printer printing, but throwing up a Windows error every time it prints. The Internet connectivity which is accessed by mini programs that Lexmark calls Smart Solutions,  is difficult to set up and use. And not too many solutions are currently available.

However, I must give  Lexmark an A for effort. After I posted my review on Hardware Secrets, they contacted me to try to resolve the problem so that other users will not be confronted with the same errors. They have not yet notified me with the resolution, but I am sure it will be forthcoming.

Here is my summary:

The print quality and good solid print, scan, and copy functionality make this a good All-in-One. The wireless networking was easy to set up, but Lexmark obviously has some problems with their interconnectivity. While adding features and Internet connectivity is certainly admirable, the average consumer doesn’t want to spend hours on the phone with tech support to set up a new printer and certainly doesn’t want to use a printer that throws up errors every time it prints. I might have had more of a tendency to recommend this printer if their tech support could have solved our problems in a timely manner. This printer is a part of a brand new line for Lexmark and perhaps the problems that we had will be resolved, but there is no guarantee.

That said, the touch screen is superior. The interface is clear and easy. While the SmartSolutions might be a reason for a techie to purchase this printer, this technology is still in its infancy. There will have to be a lot more applications that are easier to use before the average person will want to make the leap.

While the S605’s quality and performance are excellent, the problems that came along with this printer make it difficult for me to recommend it.

Pros

• Excellent large touch screen
• Great easy-to-use interface
• Speedy printing
• Wireless networking  is easy to set up
• Customizable SmartSolution applications
• Good quality prints

Cons

• SmartSolutions difficult to configure
• Difficult to  close the touch screen
• Plagued by software/driver/connectivity problems

My full review including pictures can be found at Hardware Secrets.

Available at:

After using Windows 7 in the beta format for several months, I decided to install it on my every day work computer. After 2 weeks I can honestly say that I like it very much. As for my upgrade experience, overall, it was good. You can read all about it in my Windows 7 — Upgrade Experience article.

Let us know what you think about Windows 7. We are all ears!!

My Windows 7 party pack just arrived. The Windows 7 House Party is Microsoft’s attempt to create a viral marketing campaign by recruiting everyday people from around the world to host parties during the first week of the Windows 7 launch. Microsoft hired a web service called House Party to handle all the party details including sending out invitations. They even did a video of what they would like your party to look like. You may want to check out the video at the Windows 7 House Party website. This video caused a lot of feedback on the web because everyone thought it too stilted. In fact, if you search YouTube you will find about a million videos making fun of the Microsoft video. But then, I am not sure that Microsoft cares — they are getting plenty of attention off of this.

If you applied to host a party and were chosen, Microsoft promised a party kit, and mine just arrived.

Inside the blue and green box were  streamers, balloons, a deck of Windows 7 cards, a Windows 7 jigsaw puzzle, Windows 7 napkins, and 9 large grocery-type fabric bags. The bags were a nice touch, but they are quite large and the only things that we were sent to give out to the party-goers were cards with special offers.

The offers included things like 40% off Norton 2010 and buy Nero 9 at 20% off and get Nero BackItUP & Burn free. Really, the best offer was a free year of Kaspersky’s Internet Security 2010. Although last time I used Kaspersky (2 years ago), I found it too invasive to recommend to the casual user. Microsoft also included a Zune pass to try the Zune music for free. Only problem is that it is a 14-day pass and I wish it would be a little longer. 14-days is not really long enough to get into the Zune website and get used to all that it offers. ( It is a wonderful site for a music subscriptions).

Although it didn’t get in the picture, Microsoft also included a cardboard table decoration, which really wasn’t worth photographing. Also included was the best part, a copy of Window 7 Ultimate to put on a computer to show off at the party. It was autographed by Steve Ballmer.

I don’t think the party pack was to exciting, but I did like the idea of it all. I just wonder how many people will take the party pack and the free Windows 7 and not have a party at all.

Well, I am committed. We will have a party, show off Windows 7 (which I like) and have some fun. After all, it’s not a bad excuse to have a party. I’ll let you all know how it goes.

Kodak knows a lot about cameras, photography, and paper, so it would seem likely that they would produce a good All-in-One printer. And this printer does excel at photo printing, however it does not do well in some other areas.

The Kodak ESP-7 is easy to set up and even goes on a wireless network quite easily. Printing photos on the ESP-7 is a near perfect experience. If you use Kodak paper, the printer automatically senses the type of paper and adjusts the printing accordingly. No fuss. No muss.

Kodak claims the cheapest ink costs in the industry. However, to take full advantage of this printer’s capabilities you have to buy Kodak photo paper, which is often more expensive. Then again, if you use the Kodak paper and the Kodak printer, I believe that you will have fewer mistakes saving on ink and paper.

Unfortunately, my printer needed an immediate fix. The print head needed replacement. Kodak tech support was excellent and a new print head was sent in 3 days. This is, however, problematic. Who wants to spend an hour with tech support on a brand new printer and then have to wait 3 days before you can use it?

With the new print head, printing, scanning, and copying was good. However, the slots for the media cards only read some of my cards and not others. So it was back to tech support. After another hour, I simply gave up and the problem was not solved. To be fair to Kodak, their tech support representative was willing to spend as much time as necessary to fix the problem, but I was not.

I am sure that there are people out there who are happy with their Kodak printers. However, my experience suggests that there are probably others who wish they had not purchased this printer.

Conclusions

I was honestly impressed by the quality of the prints and the ease of printing that this printer produced when printing on Kodak paper. It eliminated the stress of choosing the proper paper and the proper settings which ultimately eliminates mistakes and wasted paper and ink. I was equally impressed with the ease of use and the ease with which the printer attached to a wireless network.

Unfortunately, poor quality control and other problems plague this printer. I have also read complaints about paper jamming, but my printer did not exhibit any problems in this area.

While the photos are truly beautiful, I would also like to see a better quality color print on regular, non-Kodak paper which some other printers seem accomplish quite easily.

In fact, because of the problems I had, I cannot recommend this printer. Who wants to buy a new printer only to spend hours with technical support to get it working properly? Yet, I feel that Kodak is a printer manufacturer to watch very carefully. Kodak’s first digital cameras came up short, but after several generations, I found them to be greatly improved. If Kodak can work through their problems with these printers,  they could create exceptional printers.

Pros:

* Excellent prints on Kodak paper
* Very easy to print photos on Kodak paper
* Wireless connectivity easy to set up and use
* Separate photo paper tray
* Excellent fade resistance and photo longevity
* Multiple memory card slots
* Easy to navigate menus
* Good touch screen
* Automatically straightens and separates multiple photos during scan

Cons:

* Noisy
* Fairly slow network printing
* Colors on plain paper (non-Kodak) appear washed out
* Test printer needed new print head
* Not all media cards worked with test printer

Current retail is $199. My full review, including photos is at the Hardware Secrets website.

If you happened to see the commercial of the little boy who uses an Olympus Tough camera as a “throw and fetch” stick for his dog, you might wonder if a camera could be that durable. Well, I am here to tell you that it can. While I might not be as careless as that little boy, I put the Olympus Stylus Tough-6000 through some pretty rugged testing and it took everything I threw at it without blinking. It is waterproof, shockproof, and basically — very tough!

The most amazing feature, might well be the “tap” feature. When it is turned on you can tap the right side of the camera to adjust the flash mode. Tap the left side and the camera will cycle through the Macro modes. Tap on the screen  to switch to  the Playback mode and tap on the top to confirm the selections. Everything is pretty well thought out. You can even tap twice on the top to turn the tap feature on and off. This feature alone makes the camera great for working in cold conditions when you want to wear gloves, It is also great under water. The LDC screen is one of the best I’ve seen in bright sunlight.

The camera is small and will easily fit in your pocket. It has a 3.6x optical zoom and is a 10-megapixel camera. It takes good pictures with good color representation. For a retail price of $279, it does a lot. It’s a great camera for outdoor scenery in cold, wet, or bright conditions. It’s also perfect for harsh conditions and klutzy people.

Conclusions:

This is not the most expensive waterproof  and shockproof camera, but it performs admirable for the average outdoor enthusiast at a very reasonable price. Picture quality is good. The screen is fantastic in bright sunlight. And the waterproof and shockproof qualities live up to their hype. The tap function works quite well making the camera good for cold weather or underwater photography. The camera is good-looking and easily pocketable.

Pros:

• Well priced for the features
• Compact and very portable
• Good level of waterproof/toughness
• LCD screen is excellent in bright sunlight
• Good macro ability
• Distinctive tactile feel to half-press of the shutter
• Good dual image stabilization
• Great Tap Feature

Cons:

• Slow flash underwater
• Relatively slow to start
• Slightly slow shutter response

My more detailed review with pictures can be found at Hardware Secrets.

Click the link below to read some owner’s reviews and/or to buy the camera at Best Buy.
Olympus Stylus Tough 100-Megapixel Digital Camera – Orange

Those of you who are lucky enough to have someone in the family with a college address that ends in .edu will love this deal. You can order Wubdiws 7 Home Premuim or the Enterprise version for only $29.99. The special price is available now through January 3, 2010.

You can make the purchase at a special web page set up by Microsoft.The download is being handled by Digital River, a large, reputable company. The software will be available for download on October 22, the official Windows 7 launch date. You can also order a backup DVD.

If you have a .edu address, it a great deal!!

Although I usually talk about technology, those of you who follow my posts know that I love tea. I also believe that tea has many health benefits and that drinking red tea helps my rosacea. I’ve received email from others that have been helped by tea, so I continue to spread the word.

Teavana is the online tea store with the best selection of flavored red teas. You can try everything from chocolate to chai or vanilla to blueberry. Right now Teavana is offering Free Ground Shipping on every order.

You will not see this offer on the Teavana website, but you can just place the tea you want to try in your cart and then use Coupon Code FBFREE to get the discount. This is good only in the US  and ends on 9/30/2009. To read more about what I like about red tea, which is also called rooibos tea, check out my Tea Lovers area.

Broadband Internet service through DSL or cable companies has become the norm for many people in the United States. Yet there are still a few people using slow dial-up connections. So an in-depth investigation of broadband internet services can serve three different type of people:

1. Those still on dial-up who want to move to broadband.

2. Those who are already on broadband who want to see if they are getting the best price and service.

3. Those who want to investigate adding mobile broadband so they can access their broadband connection while they are on the move.

I’ve recently found an interesting website that can help you investigate the different companies that offer broadband access. Broadband Expert  has pricing and bandwidth information for DSL, cable, and mobile broadband. Just type in your zip code and you can see what is available in your area, how much it costs, and just what you get. Their coverage of mobile broadband plans is especially impressive. And if you have seen mobile broadband cards on television, but you really don’t understand what they do or how hard they are to set up, this website gives excellent information and instructions.

If you want more information on broadband Internet, check out Broadband Expert at: http://www.broadbandexpert.com/