Organise your life - Yojimbo Style !

Well, I never ever thought that I would move away from bookmarking hundreds of web pages to keep track of interesting items. But things in my everyday Mac life are about to change and it will be interesting to see if the changes are permanent. For a long time now, if I found something of interest on the internet, I would bookmark it and try to put it into a meaningful category. More often than not into a bookmark folder called something like 'interesting software' or 'to look at later'. I came to realise just this week that I hardly ever went back to these bookmarks, so I was probably wasting a lot of my time, which I could spend more creatively.

Enter Yojimbo, by Bare Bones Software, which I would like to describe myself as an 'Electronic Scrapbook on Steroids'. Many people are pushing around a category of software called 'GTD' which stands for 'Getting Things Done', at this early stage Yojimbo does fit into this category, but seems to offer a whole lot more besides.

Before I move on to let you know the features of Yojimbo and how I have used it so far, I would like to let you all know that this is the first review from Geekanoids that will be revisited for a 'Long Term Look' in about six weeks time. More often than not, a reviewer picks up a piece of software to review, raves about it (or not) and then it gets forgotten. Well, with a different approach, I will let you know my early thoughts, but will then report back to let you know if Yojimbo is still in my dock as a permanent feature.

So, Bare Bones Software offer Yojimbo as a trial download. It weighs in at a 7Mb download, which is a universal binary and will work for 30 days, after which you can purchase a license for various amounts depending on your use. An individual license costs $39, educational is $29 and a family license for up to 5 users is $69. Each license allows you to install on multiple machines, so for example if you buy an individual license and own a desktop and laptop, this is fine and allows you to use the full power of Yojimbo via synchronisation (more on that later).

After a simple installation you can start using Yojimbo to store information. The types of info you can throw at it are almost endless, anything from text, web bookmarks, PDF files, web archives, serial numbers and passwords, the list goes on and on. Right from the offset I found the software great for dragging interesting web images and screenshots into the software. The screenshot (right) shows me dragging a screenshot for the Geekanoids website into Yojimbo's DropDock and into the Web Images category (or folder) that I had created within the main software window earlier. Once the info is dragged into Yojimbo I can then go to the main window and retrieve the information I require. In this case it is a URL pointing towards the original image... to download the full review click here.

Product supplied by Bare Bones Software.
Retail price: $39 (single user)
Contact: 781-687-0700
Link to product.
Yojimbo Product Tour.

Griffin RoadTrip for iPod - Full Review

Using my iPod everyday is a forgone conclusion for me. I love my music, like looking at photos of my kids, but one thing I miss is catching up on the tech podcasts that I love so much. I often put them on when settling down for the night, only to find out in the morning that I cannot recall a lot of what I had listened to. For a long time I had wanted a solution so that I could easily listen to my iPod in the car, but all too often the little device needed batteries, or my iPod was low on juice, or even worse I found a spaghetti junction of wires in my car (as well as under my desk).

Griffin Technology addresses these issues with a neat all in one unit called the RoadTrip, but does it deliver the promises and how easy is it to install and use? Read on to find out...

Well, out of the box you are presented with extra bits and pieces to suit all iPods that sport a dock connector, see the ‘Extra Vies’ panel for images of these. Basically the box contains some protection pads, the iPod holder itself, the main body of the unit, the FM transmitter module, power plug (for your 12v cigarette lighter socket), and extension arm, USB audio cable and two additional plastic holders for the iPod Mini and Nano. The back insert of the box neatly unfolds to give you diagrams and full instructions of how to set things up, a quick read of this proves that things are going to be easy.

Now, I have three iPods to test this with, a Nano, 30Gb 5G iPod and a 60Gb 3G iPod, so here’s hoping they all fit nicely. I wanted to start with the 60Gb 5G iPod, so a quick read of the instructions told me to install the extra thick protection pad to the main iPod holder, which I duly did. However, when I then tried to insert the iPod it was such a tight fit that I initially abandoned it. The 30Gb iPod fitted very nicely though, so after the main install into the car (see ‘On The Move’)
I went back to try my 60Gb iPod again and it fitted, but was very tight. It fitted the second time due to the protection pad having squashed down a bit... to download the full review click here.

Product supplied by Griffin Technology.
Retail price: $89.99
Contact: 615-399-7000
Link to product.

Netgear HDXB101 Powerline Review

For a long time now I have either found myself tethered to a desktop computer or relying on a wireless connection. Being a long time Apple user, I have enjoyed reliable wireless connections with the more often than not built in airport extreme. Using a PC occasionally, I stumbled across wireless adaptors and almost lost all my hair in the painful process of setting them up.

Many users want a simple solution, without running metres and metres of wires throughout their homes and offices. Netgear have stumped up the technology with their HDXB101 Powerline Ethernet Starter Kit.

Being a long time Netgear user I knew that these devices have been available for a while now, but what distinguishes the HDX Powerline series is the top transfer speed of 200Mbs (megabytes per second). They work by using your mains cabling to transfer data, so you have no messy long runs of wiring to do. In this review I will be looking at a real world scenario, giving you real world results. Although I have a networking background I have tried to approach this from a layman's perspective, so I hope this helps the majority of readers.

So, straight out of the box the HXDB101 kit consists of everything you need to get started. Two HDX101 plug units, two ethernet cables, a resource CD (which I did not even need to use) and an instruction sheet. Extra plug units are also available separately.
To test the units I used an dual core Intel iMac, an Apple MacBook and a G4 Powermac, with a PC thrown in for good measure (more about that later).

Set up is very simple, I know we should all read instructions, but I was very eager to see how easy this was. So I plugged one unit in to the mains socket in my office, connected the ethernet cable to the netgear unit and the other end into my ethernet switch. My switch is also a Netgear, but you can use any brand. The other unit was purposely plugged into another socket on the ground floor, physically as far away as possible from my switch. With both units switched on I had to wait about 20 seconds before a connection was established. There are three LED’s on each unit, one shows power, the other shows a powerline network connection and the third shows network connection (steady light) and activity (flashing light)... to download the full review click here.

Product supplied by Netgear, Inc.
Contact: +44 (0)1344 458200
Average street price: £130
Link to product.
Link to product datasheet.

Tempo iPod Sports Wrap from Griffin

It gives me great pleasure to bring you the first full review from Geekanoids. If you are reading this on the website, towards the bottom of this article you will find a link to download the full review in PDF format, this is a free download for you to read, print and share with your friends.

On with the review, thanks to the kind people at Griffin Technology who sent us this ‘tempo’ sports wrap for the iPod Nano. It is also available in a larger option for the full size iPods.

The ‘tempo’ is made of a soft stretchy material, with a soft lined pocket for your Nano. Getting the Nano into the pocket is a little tricky, the fit is very snug, but once inside there is no danger of it slipping out. This is especially important if you plan to exercise whilst using your iPod. The plastic screen protector is ultra clear, so it does not degrade the image quality, so another thumbs up here.

Detailing on the ‘tempo’ is nice, with high visibility grey on either side of the iPod holder and a bright orange cord wrap, which is great for keeping your headphone cable nice and tidy. The grey detailing is also made of reflective type material, so car headlights will pick this up, a great safety feature if you run when it is dark.

Along the length of the armband there are multiple velcro patches... to download the full review click here.

Product supplied by Griffin Technology.
Contact: 615-399-7000
Link to product.