Open thread

Absolutely beastly outside.

Just a little high-tech update. Since I find it rather impossible to get good information on products online - there's just TOO much information, so I'm never really able to find a definitive source (or combination of sources) for what product I ought to buy, be it digital cameras, or more recently, white noise machines to help you sleep better.

So in that vein, let me share the results of two recent searches.

1. First, the white noise machine. I.e., a loud little thing that helps wipe out ambient noise so you can sleep better - and yes, I sometimes just use my fan, but when I travel I can't take my fan with me. Anyway, after much research, the hands-down winner with folks online - at least all the reviews I could find - is the following device:

Marpac Sound Screen MP980SS OR Marpac Sleepmate MP980SM (they're apparently basically the same thing, just different names). This thing got rave reviews, sells out quickly, and basically contains a loud little motor that makes a good deal of noise like a fan, and you can adjust the volume to some degree. No, unfortunately I get no commission if you buy one, just passing along some advice.

2. Second, a wifi detector/finder. Basically, a device that you can use when walking around town, or your apartment or home, that will detect whether there are any wireless Internet connections in the area. Interestingly, the reviews sucked for pretty much every product I could find, except one. Most of the units I read about do a poor job finding the wifi, and none of them (save one, that I could find) tell you if the wifi network you've found is encrypted or not (I.e., whether you can use it without a password). The device that does all this is:

Canary Wireless has released its $50 Digital Hotspotter. You can read a review from MacWorld here. This one is NOT something you can put on your keychain, but to me being able to see if the network is encrypted or not saves you from opening up your laptop on every street corner to try the connection only to find it fail.

Anyway, since this is an open thread, and I find researching this kind of thing rather a pain, thought I'd pass along the fruits of my googling.