What I Use
My house is full of computers and various other electronics.
Computers - I keep my primary computer (an HP Pavilion dv9500t) in my room, and my media production computer (an HP Pavilion m9300t desktop) in our shared foyer. My sister owns a White MacBook and an HP Pavilion s3100y desktop. She keeps her MacBook in her room and her desktop in our shared foyer. My parents use an HP Pavilion m8100y desktop which they keep in the kitchen. We also have two old Dell Dimension 8400 computers, one in my room (as a Windows 7 test machine) and one in my dad's study (also running Windows 7).
Cell Phones - I own a Motorola Droid. My sister owns a Blackberry Curve 8330. My mother owns an LGEnV 2 phone. My dad owns an LG EnV phone.
Digital cameras - My digital camera is a Canon PowerShot SD790IS, a 10 MP camera that I highly recommend. My parents own a Canon PowerShot SD850IS.
Wireless routers - In the tech cabinet outside my room are several of our old wireless routers, including a D-Link DIR-655 Xtreme-N Wireless Router, a Belkin F5D7230-4 Wireless-G Router, and a Netgear WGR614v5 Wireless Router. We use an Apple Airport Express as a travel router.
We also have a Linksys WVC54GCA Wireless Internet Video Camera for keeping an eye on Maddie while we're away.
Video/voice calls - For Skype video calls, I have a Microsoft LifeCam Cinema that I use in lieu of my laptop's built-in webcam. I also have a Logitech QuickCam Ultra Vision as a backup. My primary headset for Skype is a Plantronics DSP-400 Foldable USB Headset. I also own a Logitech ClearChat Comfort as a backup, a Logitech ClearChat Wireless (for convenience), a Logitech Vantage USB handheld microphone, and an Audio-Technica AT2020USB microphone with a tripod stand.
Computers
HP Pavilion dv9500t - This laptop is my primary computer, and as such it's loaded with all my photos, home movies, schoolwork, music, etc. It has an Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2.20GHz processor, 2 GB of RAM, and 200 GB of hard drive space stupidly spread out over 2 hard disks (it makes organization a lot harder). This computer is running Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit. I use a Logitech VX Nano laptop mouse with this machine. I want to get a second monitor, but right now I don't have room anywhere near my laptop desk. Currently, a USB cable runs from my laptop into a USB hub on my desk. I plug all my accessories (headphones, iPod, flash drives, etc.) into this hub. One port on the hub is permanently taken up by my external backup drive, which sits snugly next to my desk.
HP Pavilion m8100y - I do all my heavy-duty media production on this desktop. I don't have a special mouse or keyboard, because HP's wireless mouse and keyboard work perfectly. This computer, which runs Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit, is attached to an HP 20" Widescreen Display. A Logitech Quickcam Ultra Vision webcam sits atop the monitor. I also kept the speakers that came with this desktop, as they work well. This desktop has 3 GB of RAM, a 750 GB hard drive, and dual DVD drives, one for writing and one for reading.
Dell Dimension 8400 - This old machine (from January 2005) still works really well. I recently installed Windows 7 on it, and it handles the new OS with absolutely no perfomance problems. It has an Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, and a 250 GB hard drive. On this machine, I use the Logitech MX3000 Cordless Duo keyboard and mouse.
Backup
Our primary computers each have dedicated external hard drives for frequent backups. I backup my laptop on a daily basis to a 1.5TB Western Digital My Book Essential External Hard Drive. I backup my desktop to a 1 TB Western Digital My Book Essential External Hard Drive. My former laptop backup drive, a 500GB Maxtor OneTouch III External Hard Drive, sits in my closet as a "backup" backup drive. My sister also owns one of these and uses it to back up her MacBook. I have all my movies and TV shows (all of which I paid for) backed up to a 1TB Lacie External Hard Drive. My sister backs up her desktop to a Maxtor OneTouch II 100GB External Hard Drive. My parents backup their desktop to a Maxtor OneTouch III Mini 160GB External Hard Drive.
Printers
Our printer situation is almost embarassing in its overkill nature. My sister and I print to an HP Photosmart C6180 Wireless All-In-One, which -- true to its name -- is networked for house-wide printing. My parents' computer prints to an HP Photosmart C4480 Printer/Copier/Scanner, which is not networkable. I have wired the printer to be shared through Windows when the kitchen computer is online. In our attic is an HP PSC 2510, which is also networked for printing from anywhere in the house. Finally, we have an HP Deskjet D1455 Printer in the study. I have also set up this printer to be shared via the study PC when it is online.
Portable Devices
LG VX9900 EnV - Motorola and Verizon's smash-hit iPhone competitor has been extremely appealing to me since day one, and I'm glad I have it. I love the tight Google service integration, the touch screen, the DVD-quality video, and a whole lot more.
Apple iPod touch - This 16GB touchscreen media device has become the mainstay of my mobile arsenal. I cannot go anywhere for more than an hour or so without bringing my iTouch. With the App Store, I can install any program for any task in seconds. And with direct podcast downloading, I can grab podcasts in the airport to listen to on the plane. This iPod also stores all my unfinished Audible audiobooks, syncs with my Google contacts and calendars, and provides me with mobile access to services like Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and the HTML-rich web.
Sony PSP-1001K - This first-generation PSP is getting older, and I only keep it around for mobile TV (through our Sony LocationFree player). Occasionally, I'll turn it on and see if there's a firmware update for it, but beyond serving as a mobile TV and emergency backup mobile Internet device, I have no real use for it.
Sony DRX-S70U External DVD Drive - If I need to use my laptop to read and write simultaenously using DVDs, I'll plug in this drive. My media production desktop already has two DVD drives, so I don't use this much. I also keep it around in case I need to give an older computer a DVD drive for OS installation.
Television
In the basement, we have our Sony Bravia KDL-46XBR2 HDTV. In our attic is a Sony Bravia KDL-26S3000 HDTV. In my room I have a Panasonic CT-27D50 CRT TV, which I use solely for connecting to my laptop (there is no coaxial jack in my room).
Home technology
Comcast HD Plus Triple Play - I am probably one of the few people to say this, but I love Comcast. Their HDTV service is impeccable, even if I can't get Cartoon Network HD (only desirable because of The Clone Wars). We have two HDTV cable boxes, one in the attic and one in the basement. All of our other TVs have standard-def cable boxes. Unfortunately, we don't own any DVRs. Our primary wireless router is a Netgear WNDR3700 Wireless-N Dual-Band Router, which gets its connection from our Motorola Surfboard Cable Modem. We have a Linksys PLK300 Powerline Ethernet kit that brings Internet to our basement. This powerline box gives Internet to an Apple Airport Express, which broadcasts throughout our basement. We also use a PLK300 and an Airport Express to spread wireless access around our backyard. Our Internet connection is very fast, although at times it feels slow due to the number of devices using our wireless connection. I usually get connection speeds of around 20Mbps down and 5Mbps up. As part of the Triple Play bundle, we also have Digital Voice Unlimited phone service.
Slingbox PRO-HD - This deceptively small box sits atop my cable box and streams live HD television to the computers in my house. It enables me to pause and rewind live TV with TiVo-like functionality, surf through a program guide and see what's coming up, and remotely change channels using a virtual remote. The HD streaming is a definite leg up from my LocationFree player -- which we still keep around for when standard-def streaming is all we want.
Sony LocationFree Player LF-V30 - This wireless base station streams standard-def television to various devices around my house. My PSP and several of our computers have the necessary software installed. However, because we also have a Slingbox connected to our basement HD source, we rarely use the LocationFree setup anymore. It serves as a backup unit, and also as a method of getting TV on more computers simultaneously (separately, the LF unit and the Slingbox can only stream to one device at a time).
Video games
Our gaming system is the Nintendo Wii. We have it down in the basement attached to our big HDTV. We rarely play it anymore, but when we do, we have access to a large array of games and accessories. We have four Wiimotes, two Nunchuks, and a gun attachment for a Zelda video game. We also have a two-remote charging dock for the Wiimotes. Our games include Link's Crossbow Training, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Party 8, Super Paper Mario, Wii Play, and Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree.
What I Want
There are lots of products out there that would be great to have, but I've managed to whittle my interests down to a select few products.
