Monaco Product Reviews

Livescribe echo 4GB SmartPen

2010-10-08T21:37:00.000-07:00

So I found a really good deal on this thing the other day - picked it up for about 40% of retail. Too smoking of a deal to pass up, and I was shopping them anyway.

I love this thing. I was skeptical at first - I've used the Logitech io2 SmartPen before and I was not too happy with it - mostly because it wasn't very accurate, the paper was expensive, and they wouldn't let you print your own.

The Livescribe echo SmartPen solves all of those problems. It's remarkably accurate, even on custom paper. Did I mention you can create your own paper? There's an SDK you can download to design and print your own paper. You will need a 600dpi capable color printer, however.

The desktop application is very well put-together. You use the pen on a special page, and it just appears in the desktop application when you sync it with the included microUSB cable. Aside from the synchronization of notes with the pen, the desktop application also allows you to print your own 25-page notebooks with no advanced knowledge needed. Very, very, very, freaking cool.

On to the SDK. Along with the previously mentioned feature, this sold me on the Livescribe pen. I can design any form I want, deploy it to my pen (using a TEST license, which I believe simply limits redistribution. Possibly also requires the SDK to put the form on the pen too. I'm sure they make it hard for people without technical skills to sell more pre-assembled paper products. I'm not against their business model - I can print my own forms for my (and my wife's when she gets one) pen and that's 100 percent of what I need to do. Sold!

The thing also records voice notes that can be linked with printed text, which is REALLY cool, but I haven't quite figured out what to do with it yet. I'll find a use eventually. Anyway, the voice tutorial worked flawlessly - great sound quality. Adjustable sensitivity. I'd have killed for one of these while I was in college. Having a digital copy of everything I write would have made note-taking a breeze. Especially if the notes kept up with an audio lecture.

The pen has an OLED screen on it for interacting with the pen. This is a must-have feature for a smartpen.

The SDK is a little bit complicated. There's some gotcha's with my Mac and GhostScript that will cause the renderer to hose up. If you've used eclipse, it will all make sense to you. Making my own paper had a steep learning curve.

Check out this site if you get/have one of these - the guy made up some graph paper for the Livescribe pens. I highly recommend if you have any use for graph paper. It looks like something you'd find at a Staples or OfficeDepot. Very professional design.

So, bottom line - this pen is great. I'm not sure I'd pay full retail for this...if I didn't have the deal I'd probably have bought a pulse 2GB SmartPen instead.

Health-O-Meter Weight Tracking Scale

2010-09-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Model HDM545-37.
UPC 080006111078
Product Page: http://www.healthometer.com/Product.aspx?cid=1087&pid=6961
Price: $30

We bought this scale about 2 weeks ago. It's a glass-top, two-user weight tracking scale. It was working great until I got a low-battery warning just 2 weeks after I bought it. Either the company ships it with crap batteries, or this thing chews through expensive CR2032 batteries in about 2 weeks. Either way, I'm not taking the time to find out. This thing is going back to the store for something that takes a more common battery so I can use my rechargeable batteries.

What I liked:

The scale was relatively easy for me to use, but then again, I'm a software guy. It seems pretty accurate - with 4 separate load cells (like the Wii Fit balance board) it reports the same weight relatively consistently. I like how it shows me how much weight was gained or lost after each weighing vs previous weighing for that user.

What I didn't like:

The user interface would be a little tricky for someone less technically-oriented. Step on scale lightly, wait for a specific sequence of flashes...hold down foot on scale to select user. 2 seconds for this, 5 seconds for that. If you don't think like a state machine, this will probably be more of a pain to use than a scale with a dedicated set of buttons for user selection. The battery issue was big for me too. 2 CR2032 batteries every 2 weeks to keep a 2-user scale running for 2 people is just not cost-effective. I understand that the load cells draw more power since there's 4 of them - but why not use AAA or AA batteries in the design?

Bottom Line:
If this scale took AA batteries, it would be a clear winner for me. Looks nice, is accurate enough for what it's designed for, and the wifey got used to the back-asswards user interface. It just isn't cost effective with those watch batteries. It was returned to the store.

Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Soap

2010-09-07T01:36:00.000-07:00

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps, Pure Castile Liquid Soap UPC 018787775080
Main product page: http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/OLPE08/PeppermintLiquidSoap.htm

What it is:
The first soap I was able to find which didn't cost a fortune and contains no chemicals, perfumes, or preservatives. It boasts on the label that it has 18 uses, everything from washing your body to toothpaste to pest spray for plants. I've used it to do laundry, it was better than nothing; wash my body with, great results, no dry skin and hubby claims I smell like a danish cookie when I use the almond fragrance; and wash my hair with, maybe it's my hair type, but it left it extremely tangled, works fine for him though. The peppermint fragrance also leaves your skin tingly after you use it, and my husband and I have both used it to shave with and it works great.

In my opinion:
I love the fact that it only has 9 ingredients, all of which are organic. I spent a few weeks hunting for a soap without SLS or parabens in it, and everything I found in the farmer's market cost a fortune and most of the soaps still contained ingredients I didn't want. I found Dr. Bronner's next to the Burt's Bees section at Target, and it was around $14 for 32 oz. I bought that bottle in February of this year, and still have almost half of it left. Aside from the nasty chemicals in other products that I especially don't want going into my body now that I'm pregnant, I have sensitive skin and stuff like Caress and Nivea made my skin really dry and itchy. Now I use Dr. Bronner's and put coconut oil on after the shower and my skin is finally hydrated and soft all the time.

The final verdict:
Very cost effective completely natural soap. Obviously some of the other products out there work better at getting the tub or laundry clean, but Dr. Bronner's competes with them if using a safe product is important to you. It definitely wins over a regular bar of soap.