SEI Design Group BlogBlog about news, information, happenings and mojo at SEI Design Group

We love technology, and finding quality new toys and gadgets is a pastime.    The Plantronics 975 far exceeds all expectations.  It is rare to find such a good bluetooth headset.  Just happy to get one that stays in your ear, and is clear for you and the person on the other end.  Well this baby does all that and more.  And it is small and lightweight.  Small is good!  You also get a nifty little leather charging case and the micro USB also charges the case! The case allows you to get an extra charge for the headset when traveling.  Check out the video below:

Feeling sluggish lately? Oops, meant is your computer sluggish lately?  If you deal with these 4 simple things, you should be able to see some improvement.  This applies to both Mac and PC.

1.  Perhaps the biggest improvement will be seen if you clear all those items, icons, and shortcuts off your desktop.  You abusers out there know who you are with dozens of items on your desktop!  You can’t even see your desktop background!

2. Be sure you are not getting close to maxing out your hard drive.  This will really slow the machine down.  Perhaps you can archive some of your photos and videos.  Get rid of older versions of files that you don’t need anymore.

3. Be sure you have done the updates on your software.

4. Don’t stream and work on the VPN at the same time.   Yes, we love love love Pandora, but it can be taxing to the work pipeline.

No, Tim did not ask me to post this. 

Comment if you try these to tell us if there is improvement.

We all have a mess of gadgets that need charging from phones to pdas to ipods to headsets. Instead of a mess of chargers cluttering your desk, how about this beauty from Bluelounge, The Sanctuary.  This video demonstrates the convenient end to the clutter.  While it looks like you can save $10 on this at J&R as well as other locations, the only place it seems to be in stock is directly from Bluelounge.   It must be really popular and the 2008 IDEA Award announced by Business Week must have increased interest.

RS Outlook is offering a free Outlook 2007 Add-in.  This will remind you to add your attachments.  We have all had to send an email titled something like “Oops” when we forgot to attach a referenced file.  With this add-in, if you type attachment (or whatever words you designate), you will be prompted to add your attachment.

Answers to your questions:

1) Yes, that is Tim.

2) No, this was not photoshopped!

3) He was not forced. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on it!

This quiz at CNN.com was very interesting.  You have to rank your gadgets and gizmos, then you can see how you compare to others who have ranked theirs.  We found it difficult to limit to 10 and to make the decisions.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) finished last week, but this David Pogue video is still informative and amusing.  If you enjoy David Pogue, you can subscribe to his NY Times Videos free through iTunes.

Well, the rumors are rampant including a tiny laptop called the Macbook Nano.  On January 15th, Steve Jobs will deliver his typical keynote and get us all psyched for new products.  AppleIncider posted some pictures of the new banners at the Moscone Center in anticipation of tomorrow’s MacWorld Expo. "There’s something in the air."  And the question is – will it be Thunderclap Newman (or possibly Phil Collins) playing in the background?  The funniest thing we have seen is the comical Steve Jobs game to help him get ready for his Keynote.

FOS, Gary Jacobs, had an entertaining post on his blog listing the Worst Tech Gadgets of 2007.  Some of them are so ridiculous, it is hard to believe anyone would purchase, but we were intrigued by his #1 item, Nabaztag.  It looks so cute and reminds us of the Wassup which is displayed proudly on Jim’s desk (he finally won it at the Holiday Party).  Once we saw the price, we decided Nabaztag wasn’t that cute.

The Apple Store in San Francisco is a magnet for anyone who loves Apple products or design.  An article in the New York Times this week talked about aura. The aura in the Apple Store is what partner Vic calls a “happy place” (of course, his is BJs). You can go in to admire the laptops, iPods and accessories. The glass staircase draws you upstairs to the theater, where free workshops go on all day, the genius bar and the studio for one-on-one training.  The design of the staircase is so cool that Steve Jobs had it patented.  The influence of Steve Jobs on industrial design of Apple products significantly impacts Apple’s success.