Not what I Expected

Two weekends ago I attended Blissdom '10 with my mother and brother. It was the perfect time to give an unbiased review of the 13" Incase Nylon Sleeve. It went on four planes, took a couple of trips around a nine acre hotel and was thrown on the floor more than a few times (without my laptop in it of course) and it's still in one piece which means it must have done something right...

The Good:

The best part of this case is the texture of the interior, it's a faux fur lining just like the Incase Neoprene sleeve. Also on the interior is a gigantic lip that totally protects the laptop when the case is being zippered. If you take your time when putting your laptop in the case it will be impossible to scratch it with your zipper.

Along with having a great interior the exterior is aesthetically pleasing, and surprisingly versatile. You could tuck the handles in and take the shoulder strap off and it'll just be a sleeve or don't do any of that and use it as a bag.

The Bad:

Although the faux fur lining is great for protecting against scratches it is too thin to protect against anything else. It does just as much as putting a thin cheap T-shirt in a form fitting Jansport bag. What boggles my mind is that even though the case is so thin it is not airport friendly. I had to take my laptop out of the bag each and every single time I went through security.

On the face of the bag there is one huge pocket that is sewn down the middle. Although the pocket doesn't bulge when it is filled it is hard to get what you put inside. It would have made more sense to leave the pocket untouched.

The Verdict:

Even though this bag is pleasing to the eye it doesn't do as good a job at what it's supposed to do. That's the reason I'm giving it:

★★★

3 out of 5 stars.

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My New Pet Peeve

I've had my MacBook Pro for a little over four months now and I love almost everything about it. Everything I ask it to do, it does... plus some. Apple has done a lot of work and paid a lot of money to make this a quality machine and it definitely lives up to it's cost. The only problem is that Apple has taken a cheap turn on one of the most used parts of the computer... the keyboard.

I'm not a heavy user of my laptop. I'm on it when I get home and that's about it. Even though that's not much use the keys have already developed a dull shininess that can't be wiped off. The worst part is that the more I use the keyboard, the shinier it gets!

I have no problem buying a keyboard protector. I just feel that I payed a substantial amount of money to buy a nicely built machine; not just quality software but quality build too.

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IN-Another-CASE

I love my Incase Neoprene Sleeve but traveling with it is a pain. It has no handle, no outside pockets to carry my power brick or any other accessories and the wonderful material that makes it smell so good and form to my MacBook Pro so well makes it very slippery. I'm a high school student and portability is definitely a must. The Neoprene Sleeve just doesn't fit my needs anymore.

I really love the quality and protection that Incase gives their customers so I went searching for new protection on their site before going on any other one. In about 5 minutes of searching (I love Incase) I found the Nylon Sleeve that is close to what I already have but adds the pockets and handles that I need. The price wasn't too bad either. I liked the overall design best of all, it's extremely thin while boasting a pretty big front pocket and velcro magazine pocket in the back. It looks professional but still cool. I ordered it today and it should be here by Thursday... I really can't wait.

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DUO!

KCI communications has taken a step into the future with their new gadget called The Duo. With it's stylus you are able to write on any screen 22" or smaller. This is all made possible by the base station that you place on top of your screen that tracks where the stylus is moving. The fun doesn't stop there though. The stylus also doubles as a pen, so you can write on traditional notebook paper and transfer it to your PC, much like Livescribe. This gadget is currently only made for Windows based computers but by November there will be one made for a Mac. If you are interested you can click HERE to purchase.

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A Klutz's Necessity!

As soon as my mom told me that we were going to be getting me my MacBook Pro, I knew that I would need protection. Because I'm the type of person that drops everything, I already knew that I would need a case that protected every part of the MacBook. So, I did a little research and I found the Incase 13" Neoprene Sleeve. As soon as I saw it I fell in love. The rich black color, the simplistic design, and from what I saw that other people had said, the great quality ("it's built very nicely", "durable, and is extremely stylish", "finely crafted", "I think it is one of the most well made cases out there", "well constructed case", "I would highly recommend this case").

When I went to the store to buy the case it had everything that I saw on the website and even more. There was a lip that went around the whole interior of the case, a white faux fur lining, and it had a thickness but also a thinness about it. All of these features worked hand in hand to give the MacBook "all around protection"...

The thickness of the case shielded the machine from short distance drops and other things falling onto the laptop. The thinness allowed the laptop and case together to be placed in virtually any bag that is made for a 13" (or more) laptop.The lip also provided protection from falls, as well as from the zipper when you are opening and closing it. The Neoprene material (the same material that wetsuits are made of) protected from small spills, allowed the case to keep it's form and fit like a glove, and keeps your laptop smelling brand new. That feature alone would appease anybody!

I have had this case for almost 2 weeks and have nothing bad to say which is why I'm giving it:

★★★★★

5 out of 5 stars

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Wi-Fi What?!

I was just surfing the web when I came across the weirdest/coolest tech devices ever. They are the cap and shirt Wi-fi detectors. These devices help you detect wi-fi signals and their strengths while you have them on. The lights turn on when you come near a network and the amount of bars that are lit up show how strong the network is. Although this is a very cool device i would never wear it outside. To have it light up and flash at any given moment is pretty embarrassing! But, if you are brave enough to strut with either or both of these products on, they are retailing at about $15-21 depending on where you go. May the wi-fi be with you!

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Airport Extreme-ly Incompatible?

While I was researching what MacBook Pro I wanted I saw the Airport Extreme and all of the neat feaures that come with it. It has the latest "N" technology, you could connect a wired printer or hard drive (both if you buy a USB hub) that become wireless, it allows you to make a guest network so your guests dont need to know the primary password for the router, it has dual-band support so it's faster on handheld devices (ex: iPod Touch, iPhone, Nintedo DSi etc.) and has a greater range, it has an automatic firewall that doesnt need to be set up so your conected hard drive wont be attacked, it has parental controls, allows up to 50 users without slowing the router down and finally is compatible with both a Mac and PC... Or so they say.

I only checked out the Apple site before I brought it and saw all of the rave reviews for the product. I was so excited about getting a new Apple product that I didn't do as much research as I should have. I only looked at the Apple site, and of course I thought that that was good enough but it wasn't. I failed to remember the fact that I would be connecting it to a PC so I should be looking at forums and how well it connected to a PC. So eventually, I remembered that small fact and did more research, after I had brought the product, and boy was I surprised. Everything on Google that popped up was how bad the Airport Extreme is on PCs especially those that run Vista. I'm a little scared now that I have a product that i spent so much on that may not be compatible with my computer. I'm going to take a leap of faith with Apple and keep the product and when i eventually connect the Airport Extreme hopefully it will work like a charm. We don't know yet, but soon enough we will! So, keep an eye out for an update on my blog.

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