GoPro HD Hero

I love outdoor activities, and as much as I love taking pictures and shooting videos of it, I just can't do both at the same time.  Well no longer!  Say hello to the GoPro HD Hero.


The GoPro is a tiny sports camorder that is waterproof and shock proof and comes with lots of accessories that you can purchase to meet your needs.  The HD hero comes in two variants, the 960 and the 1080p.  I suggest getting the 1080 at about $300.  You get more shooting options and more compatible accessories.

With this camcorder, you can literally put it anywhere (if you have the right accessories)!  Out of the box, it comes with a head strap that you can use to strap it to your head and 4 sticky mounts that you can mount to wherever you'd like.  You can buy an additional tripod mount for tripods, helmet mount for secure helmet mount, a wrist strap, or even a chest strap.

The things you can record with this gadget is endless.  Think of all the activities you can record.  All you'd have to do is mount it somewhere and press record.  Be it scuba diving, snorkeling, skydiving, snowboarding, anything! Hope onto youtube to see this baby in action.


This tiny camcorder does not have an LCD screen, so you don't really know what you are shooting until you load it onto your computer.  This makes sense, since you probably won't be looking at the LCD screen anyways if you're just going to mount, record, and forget.  But they do sell the LCD screen for about $80 and I do recommend getting it.  You can make sure that you're recording what you want to record, and then take turn off the LCD to conserve battery.

The HD Hero as an aperture of f/2.8.  This is better than my Pentax Lens, which can only go up to f/3.5.  What this means is that it'll shoot pretty well in low-light settings.  The lens is a super wide angle lens so you'll get a fish-eyeish effect, which can actually look pretty cool.  If you're into modding, you can get custom lens at ragecams.com that can change the viewing angle, aperture, and more.

Another cool feature with the 1080p variant is that you can shoot 720p at 60fps.  This makes for a smoother video and great if you want to slow down some footage.  Check this video out:

This this is also a pretty damn good camera.  If you're into time lapse, then you'll love this thing.  It can take 5MP pictures every 2, 5, 10, 30, or 60 seconds.  Check out this awesome time lapse shot with the GoPro Hero HD 1080p:

Once snowboarding season comes, I'll post some of my videos up.



The Gopro has many accessories, but none of which you have to buy.  You can buy it a little at a time, but the start out pack gets you well equipped.  At $300 for an awesome sports camcorder/camera, this is a Gotta Gadget

Logitech Revue

Dear Vicky,

I am sorry I cheated on you.  I know, we've spent so much time together when I was a kid and we've bonded so well! But for the past few years, I find myself attracted to something else; my laptop.  But I just can't help.  You've become...boring, and the laptop is just so much more entertaining. I can watch movies and shows whenever I want, but with you, I have to wait.  And you know how much I hate waiting... But ever since I bought you that Revue, I find myself falling in love with you again.  I hope you could find it in your processor to forgive me.

Love,

-Hoa

This is what I would write to my TV if it could read; and if its name was Vicky.  Like me, most of you probably haven't spent much time on the TV as you used to.  This is because we have other means of entertainment; mainly, the computer.  In a world where everything is on-demand, TVs are getting neglected.  Who wants to have to wait for a specific time to watch a show or movie?  Who wants to get interrupted by commercials?  Sure, cable companies are offering on-demand stuff, but this will cost you.  Why pay for something when you can get it online for free through the network websites? 

But the TV is important to the family.  Remember those family movie nights?  How about those times when the whole family just sits down and watch some good ol' tv?  Now that we all have laptops or computers, we all go to our rooms to watch whatever the hell we watch.  How can you bring back the TV and that family bonding time?

Well people, prepare to fall in love with your TV again.  With the Logitech Revue, you can bring the web to your TV.  The Revue is Logitech's Google TV at a very attractive price point; $99.  Google TV is Google's version of Apple TV, but better.  The Revue can easily integrate  itself into your current home entertainment systems.  It has an IR blaster, which means it can control most of your equipment (i.e. TVs, Receivers, DVD players, cable boxes, etc). 

 If you have cable service, you can hook it directly into the Revue and use the Revue to search for shows.  With the included keyboard and track pad, searching for entertainment content is a breeze.  All you have to do is hit the search key, type your keyword, lets say Burn Notice (or Jersey Shore, if you're into that...), and the Revue will search for not only what your cable provider is offering, but what the web has to offer as well.  You find find interesting interviews or raunchy pictures (wink wink).  

What's more is there is a PIP (picture-picture) feature.  Say for instance, you're watching a movie and there's this hot actress (or a hot actor) what you want know the name of and possible look at her (or his) picture and maybe take a few minutes to admire her beauty (or his body). Before, you'd have to run to your laptop and search for it or you've have to wait until it's over or on commercial to do it.  With the Revue, you can do it instantly, while still watching your show or movie! 

The Revue has a few native applications like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Pandora to name a few.  Unlike Apply TV, the Revue has full flash support.  That means you can stream movies and shows from websites that  support flash like the network websites (sorry, no Hulu.) or just games even.  The Revue also has usb ports that you can load pictures and movie into and watch it on your big screen.  

What's even better is that Google is coming out with an update that will bring Honeycomb (Android OS) to the Revue, which means more applications.  This will only make the Revue a better product.  At $99, this is a Gotta Gadget.