Seamus Bellamy

Wired Gadget Lab: 1DollarScan Book Digitizing Service

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:21:48 -0700

Wired’s GadgetLab recently had me take a look at 1DollarScan: a book and document scanning service that, for a reasonable price, will transform just about any document you send to them into a high quality file that can be read on most electronic devices.

Is it worth it? Kind of. You can check out my impressions of the service by dropping by the Wired website.

The Sweethome: The Best Air Conditioners

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:09:36 -0700

It’s getting hot out there—again. Last year I tackled air conditioners for the first time for The Wirecutter. It wasn’t easy, as there’s a ton of hardware to choose from, and it all looks and functions in much the same way. Some companies don’t even bother making their own: They just buy the guts from other manufacturers and slap their own case and logo on it.

This year proved a little bit easier, thanks to my having eaten so much dirt last year, and more importantly, the amazing testing chops of my friend, Richard Baguley.

You’ll find the update to my my air conditioning pick over at The Wirecutter’s new house ware’s site The Sweethome.

The Globe & Mail: Charge your device off the grid with Sherpa solar power kit

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:17:15 -0700

Looking for an off-the-grid solution for keeping your doo-dads and whatnots charged? Then my Globe & Mail review of Goal Zero’s Sherpa 50 Solar Charging Kit will be right up your alley.

I dig Goal Zero’s battery packs. I have a few of them. Actually, I think it’s safe to say I have a Goal Zero battery problem. Living in an earthquake and tsunami zone, I tend to stock up on everything and anything I feel I might need to survive whatever the Hell is going to happen to me. Does that make me paranoid? Maybe. But when the shit goes down and I’m still able to charge my smartphone and watch a The China Syndrome on my iPad, all of the scorn and ridicule I’ve eaten over the years will have been worth it.

Anyway, here’s the review. It’s a great piece of kit.

I spent two days travelling and a 24 hours in New York City...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:50:35 -0700

I spent two days travelling and a 24 hours in New York City earlier this week. While I plan on writing a travelog when I get the chance, I thought I’d share a few—very few of the pictures I took in the meantime.

The Globe & Mail: Fitbit Flex Review

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:23:21 -0700

It’s minimalistic, comfortable to wear and, should you choose, can be completely ignored as you go about your daily life. Seriously, this thing feels like a step backwards when compared to Fitbit’s last offering, the Fitbit One.

You can read all about my reasons for saying this, here.

New York City Carry

Fri, 31 May 2013 17:19:52 -0700

I’ll be headed to New York City on assignment Monday, and with two day’s worth of air travel and a single day on the ground, I’m not finding myself in a mood to carry a whole lot of hardware. So, as part of a grand experiment in what toys I can make due with, I’ve chosen to only take along what you see here (minus a few cables and SD cards, of course.)

A Field Notes notebook in a leather cover. I don’t care about how the cover looks. I’m not that foo-foo. But I do like the extra sturdiness it provides while I’m writing on the go.
My Cross ATX Basalt Black Fountain Pen. Again, not foo-foo. I’ve owned this pen for a long time and it’s served me well. Before I bought it, I’d lose at least two or three disposable pens a day. I’m always paranoid about the whereabouts of my ATX as it cost more than I’m comfortable with. I’ve never misplaced it, and the initial cost of the thing has easily been covered by the number of regular pens I’d have lost by now if I hadn’t of switched over to using it.
A TwleveSouth Compass iPad stand. It’s the first tablet stand I bought, and I’ve never felt the need to replace it. Why mess with a good thing.
My 120GB iPod Classic. I own a metric ass-ton of music and want it with always. I could stream to my iPhone using Amazon MP3 or Rdio, but they both take a whore’s share of your battery, and that’s not cool. Same goes for my iPad. So my tunes live here instead.
A Sony NEX F3 with a Sony 16mm f/2.8 Wide-Angle lens. I love this camera, but I knew I’d love it more with a more compact lens. the 16mm f/2.8 Wide-Angle was recommended to me by my close personal acquaintance Tim Barribaeu over at the Wirecutter. It’s a wide angle lens, so it’ll be great for taking a few shots of the city and perhaps a few of it’s people while I’m there. Sadly, it doesn’t zoom. At all. I could opt to rely on the F3’s digital zoom, but I find digital zoom makes my pictures look like five pounds of shit in a two pound bag, so that’s not going to happen.
My Logitech Easy-Switch Keyboard for Mac. It’s the best multiple-use Bluetooth keyboard out there at the moment. If you’re a Mac or iOS user, snag one. You won’t be sorry.
My iPhone 5. Duh. I don’t much care to leave the missus behind, so I’ll want to stay in touch. Also, despite the fact that I’m on assignment for The Globe and Mail, my other clients may still want to get hold of me. This is the black rectangle that’ll make that possible.
A Dingoo A-320 emulator. It plays NES, SNES, GBA, Sega, Playstation 1, Atari and MAME games. It deserves a space in every geek’s carry-on
Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi edition. I could do my reading on my iPad, but that’ll suck the marrow right out of my tablet’s battery, so if I want to do some work or watch a movie on my 18 hours of air travel over the next week, I’m hosed. Also, I find it’s a lot easier on my eyes, and let’s just say it, my eyes are getting old. Easy is good.
My 32 gigabyte iPad mini. Because it’d be stupid to bring my keyboard and tablet stand along without it. Airport security would have questions. This will be the first time I’ve ever travelled anywhere without a laptop to work with or stay in touch on. Just the thought of it is kind of freaking me out. But after a recent conversation I had with Harry McCracken, I’m feeling a little better about it. He uses nothing but an iPad as his primary computing device most every day of his life for the past few years. I should be able to survive three days without a computer.

So that’s it: My New York City carry list. I’ll likely throw a high capacity USB battery pack into the mix before it’s all said and done, but I can’t think of another single thing that I need.

OK, maybe a change of clothes.

There's No Place Like Sweethome

Fri, 31 May 2013 15:29:28 -0700

If you think trying to figure out which humidifier to buy is hard, try to sort out which ice scream scoop or brand of salt to recommend.

Months in the making, Brian’s latest venture, The Sweethome is good to go. Like The Wirecutter, The Sweethome is designed to help you find the best of everything. Unlike The Wirecutter, which has a focus on technology, the emphasis at The Sweethome is on housewares, food, bath towels—you name it. Sooner or later, we’ll likely cover it.

Good day for some patio time.

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:08:28 -0700

Good day for some patio time.

The Wirecutter: The Best Gas Grill

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:43:45 -0700

I’m a charcoal man myself, but there’s no denying the convenience and almost instant satisfaction that comes from cooking on a gas grill. In order to nail down which gas grill you shouId buy, I spoke with a number of experts, talked to far too many grill speciality shops and did far more math than my brain was ever designed to handle.

In the end, I discovered that Weber’s Spirit E-210 is the best grill for most people. You can read my full review of the hardware and my rationale for picking it over at The Wirecutter.

The Globe & Mail: Not All Robot Maids are Created Equal

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:39:12 -0700

I spent a week with iRobot’s Roomba 650 and Skooba 390 floor cleaning robots so that I could write about them for The Globe and Mail. Will they replace your regular vacuum? No. Are they worth buying anyway?

You’ll have to check out my review to find out.

This isn’t going to end well.

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:56:41 -0700

This isn’t going to end well.

Moving from iPhoto to Adobe Lightroom. What a revelation

Wed, 08 May 2013 22:13:33 -0700

Moving from iPhoto to Adobe Lightroom. What a revelation

So I've decided to move back to Tumblr

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:36:33 -0700

After fighting it out with Wordpress for the last year, I’ve decided that, for me at least, hosting your own site just isn’t worth the bother.
Since setting up my Wordpress site, I was hacked twice, needed to have a friend come in to save me from a corrupted database once and was constantly so frustrated with the software that I couldn’t be bothered to post a damn thing.
I suppose the latter shouldn’t come as a shock, considering The fact that I work with Content Management Systems all day long.
Anyway, Tumblr, while basic in what it offers is dead easy. It lets me link up to my online work so that I can share it with prospective employers. It’ll allow me to noodle about with Instagram and other photos and easily share it around the web. And perhaps most importantly, I’ve never felt any disdain for Tumblr. It’s an online service that I actually like to use.
So here we are.

The Globe & Mail: Go pro with rugged iPhone Hitcase for the weekend warrior

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:03:13 -0700

Would I personally wear this thing as an action camera on a regular basis? No. But a lot of people would.

Does the Hitcase Pro make a great rugged, waterproof case for the iPhone 5? Yes, and for that, I absolutely love it.

Check out my review of the hardware here.

The Globe & Mail: Sony NWZ-W273

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:59:00 -0700

For my first assignment with The Globe and Mail, I took a look at Sony’s new Waterproof NWZ-W273 Walkman.

I liked it, but like so many things in life, it’s not quite perfect.

The Wirecutter: The Best USB Battery Pack for Travel

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:57:32 -0700

If you’re looking for a high-capacity USB battery pack that’ll charge your USB-powered gadgets while travelling, I’d recommend the Satechi Portable Energy Station 10000 for $60.

Wired Gadget Lab: The North Face Surge II Charged Daypack

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:55:57 -0700

No sir, I didn’t like it.

I was feeling a little uneasy about poo-pooing a name brand like The North Face in my first review for Wired, but it had to be done.

Read the full story to find out why.

Men's Journal: Killer Joe

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:53:11 -0700

Back when I was working in law enforcement, I drank at least eight cups of coffee on a daily basis. It’s a wonder my heart didn’t stop.

In the January 2013 issue of Men’s Journal, I put my java knowledge to use by filling the magazine’s readers in on the hottest new coffee making hardware currently on the market.

The Wirecutter: The Best Humidifier

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:49:39 -0700

It took over 100 hours of research and testing to figure it out, but I can now tell you that the best humidifier for most people is the Air-O-Swiss 7135.

The Wirecutter: The Best Sports Headphones

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:47:50 -0700

If you need a new pair of exercise headphones that’ll perform well in the gym or jogging, I’d suggest Sennheiser’s OCX 685i Sports headphones. Priced at $63, they’re a pair of earloop earbuds that provide great sound, excellent situational awareness, a microphone and inline iOS controls in a lightweight, sweat-resistant package.

My full review and my picks for a few alternate sets of headphones can be found over at The Wirecutter.