This blog, OpTempo, has been around since October 6 2007. Over time it has changed and evolved and, most recently, gone more or less dormant while I worked on other projects. I didn’t even bother to do a site birthday post back in October 2009 so this is kind of a belated birthday post as well as a site update post for the few people who read this site regularly. Now I’m ready to kick off a new round of reviews, guides and product launches, with a few changes and I wanted to let you know about them and get your input.

Moving Hosts and Changing Themes

Right now OpTempo is hosted on GoDaddy. Yeah, yeah, I know. But moving to another host won’t be simple. It takes time and planning and, worst of all, it costs money and doesn’t make money. Eventually I’ll probably break down and move but I don’t see doing this anytime soon right now.

I also want to change from the Visionary theme I’m using now. Don’t get me wrong, I like this theme. However, there are some things that I would like to do that I can’t easily do with this theme. There are some other magazine themes I’m looking at but I’ll probably go with something I put together myself. Once again, this is a ‘cost center’ kind of project so the inertia is to keep things the way they are.

What do you think? Should switching hosts and themes be a priority or should I keep things the way they are?

No More Spam Top Commentator

After dealing with huge amounts of spam comments, I’ve decided to turn off the Top Commentator plugin. OpTempo has been on a number of lists of blogs that used this plugin and, as a result, has been hammered by automated programs and such. I didn’t mind having this available for regular readers and friends but I was just getting too much junk so the plugin had to go.

I’ll probably eventually add back in some sort of followed comment reward system if I can find one I like and that will work well with this theme and the comment plugin I’m using. I want to avoid CommentLuv and KeywordLuv if I can because they’re often searched for and spam blasted as well. If you have a suggestion, let me know.

Future Plans

I’m going to be trying for at least one post a day for the near future. I’ll also be doing product promotions and giveaways. I’m not sure what else I’ll be doing but hopefully it will be interesting.

In this article I wanted to talk a bit about my new site, Templates for Website. On that site I’m selling a variety of original and PLR (Private Label Rights) website scripts and graphics.

One of the important things to do if you want to make money online or simply setup a web presence is to have an attractive site that brings in visitors and sends them in the direction you want them to go. This could be to click on an ad, sign-up for an email list or pick up the phone and give you a call. However, not everyone has the time or inclination to learn how to code a website. Outsourcing the development of a site can cost hundreds of dollars. Great if you want to save time and have the money just sitting there. But, if you don’t have the money to invest, especially if you want to build a lot of niche websites, then you need to find a pre-fab, discount, solution. This is what I’m offering at Templates for Website.

I decided to go with discount pricing over premium pricing to make the website templates affordable to anyone but especially to the beginner. Most of the web templates and graphics packages I’m selling are priced between $1.97 and $9.97. Packages include simple web templates for niche sites, WordPress theme packs, template megapacks, squeeze page templates and several graphics packages.

I’ll be launching a new forum over there soon that will offer help on various web site building questions as well as a freebie section. I’ll put the link here when it’s ready.

If you’re looking for great templates at a discount price, please check out Templates for Website.

In today’s review I’m going to be taking a look at LG GT365 Neon cellphone. I recently got this phone as a replacement for my older Motorola flip phone that was getting on the old side and lacked some features I wanted. I also wanted a phone that would work within AT&T’s GoPhone system. Based on features and price, I went with the LG GT365 Neon. Here’s why…

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First of all, I’m not a fan of the two year contract plans that all of the companies offer. I prefer the pay-as-you-go system even though it means not having the most trendy phone like the iPhone, Android or myTouch. Based on coverage, phone selection and service availability I decided to go with AT&T’s GoPhone service previously. This service generally costs me about $20 a month on the $1 a day plan, which is much less than most contract plans that start out at around $40 a month but are usually much more. Purchasing the GoPhone version of the Neon will give you $50 credit from AT&T. You can either use the new SIM in the package or do like I did and move your SIM from your old phone to the new one. Either way, you get the $50 credit.

Now, let’s take a look at the LG GT365 Neon, starting with an overview of its features. The phone’s basic design is the modern iPhone-ish look with a 2.4 inch screen that includes LCD touch dialing although other features require using the navigation keys. This is a slide out design with a small keyboard that’s not too small for larger fingers. The phone comes with only 14 MB of internal memory which can be expanded up to 4GB using a microSD memory card. The phone comes in a basic black and gray color, which is what I got, as well as more colorful neon green and black color scheme.

One of the features I wanted in a new mobile phone was Bluetooth 2.0 and the LG GT365 has this. I have a built-in hands free system in my vehicle and I wanted to use it. This has probably been my favorite feature of this phone since I can drive and dial and talk on the phone with no awkward fumbling or dangerous distractions.

The LG Neon is designed with text messaging in mind with its slide out QWERTY keyboard. When you slide out the keyword the screen orientation flips, which is nice. There’s also support for mobile email and instant messaging via AOL, Yahoo and Windows live but you’ll have to pay as you go for data access when you use these features. There are some productivity apps built into the phone and the phone has Java 2.0 support so that you can download other applications, if you want to pay for them. Overall, I found the feature navigation easy enough although finding a few items was quite as clear as I would have liked.

The LG GT365 Neon has a built-in 2 megapixel camera with a 4x digital zoom and the typical basic digital camera options. It won’t compete well with a real digital camera but is good enough for casual photography. The photo lens has a tiny mirror next to it making it easy to take good portrait shots for your address book. Also, the phone can capture video clips with audio. As you might expect, this is a bit shaky.

Music features are nice on this phone although I haven’t used them that much myself, given that I’ve got about a dozen digital music players laying around here. The LG GT365 supports MP3, AAC/AAC+, and WMA files (although not protected WMA files) and will allow you to stream music from AT&T (once again, at a price). You can also setup these files as your ringtone if you want. Sadly, it doesn’t have a standard headphone jack so you’ll need to purchase a pair of Bluetooth headphones to hear the music.

I’ve had three disappointments with the LG GT365, nothing major but still a bit annoying.

First, the battery life is short. I’m seeing about 2 hours of talk time before the charge is gone. Even the idle time seems to drain power quicker than I’d expect. I guess this is typical of a lot of newer phones but I really have to make a habit of keeping this phone plugged in when I’m not on the go.

Second, activating the speakerphone feature is difficult. I’ve never gotten it to work right. At least thanks to the Bluetooth connectivity I don’t have to really worry about this.

Lastly, I’ve had problems getting the USB connection between the phone and PC’s to work. I suppose this is a matter of finding the right drivers to use. For now, I just swap data out via the MicroSD card. Charging the phone via the USB is very slow as compared to the AC charger or car charger.

Do I recommend this phone? I would give it a qualified yes. It’s probably the most feature rich phone in the AT&T GoPhone line right now and if you want more or less up to date features but not spend $100 a month on a trendy mobile phone, the LG GT365 Neon will do nicely.

In this review I’ll be taking a look at the Sandisk Sansa Clip 8GB MP3 Player. I’ve reviewed some other Sansa players in the past, including some Clip models with less memory, and I’ve been pleased with them. I’ve heard that the Clip is being discontinued to make way for newer models in 2010. Would I buy the 8GB Sansa Clip or not? Would I buy it refurbished? Do I recommend it to you? Read on to find out…

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The Sandisk Clip 8GB MP3 Player is a small, clip on style, digital audio player that plays MP3, Audible, WAV, WMA and secure WMA music files. While previous incarnations of the Clip didn’t work with subscription services, the newer Clip does work with Rhapsody-To-Go. It also includes a FM tuner. The Clip is small device, about the size of a car key remote fob. Unlike the iPod Shuffle, the Clip has a small screen where you can see the name of the current song and basic operational info. Overall, the emphasis is on portability.

In the battery department, the Sansa Clip uses an internal rechargeable battery. A charge lasts about 12 hours of playing time. This model seemed to run out of juice a little quicker than the earlier model with less memory I tested but this might be due to other factors.

The Clip uses a standard USB 2.0 mini-port for charging the battery and for interfacing with a PC. Some Sandisk players use proprietary USB cables so it’s good to have a standard cable. I’ve found charging to be unreliable for the unit when it was hooked to a computer’s USB port although using a USB car power adapter gave it a good charge.

From the audio perspective, the Sansa Sandisk Clip 8GB MP3 Player sounds good. As I’ve mentioned before, the biggest limitation I’ve found with it has been that the EQ presets aren’t always a good fit for some music, especially when you use an external speaker other than headphones. Speaking of headphones, I do recommend upgrading them to get the best sound. The provided ones are adequate but you’ll want something better.

So, would I buy one? Well, I came real close to buying one for my son at Christmas but I went with another player instead that I’ll review soon. Should you buy a refurbished model or get a new one? I would suggest looking for the best deal you can on a new one. Refurbs are OK if you want to get the best deal possible but you have to keep in mind that if the original problem wasn’t fixed you might end up with an expensive paperweight. I do highly recommend the Sandisk Sansa Clip 8GB MP3 Player though for people who want to hook up to the Rhapsody-To-Go service and/or have a good, inexpensive, player for workouts, commuting to work and the like.

In this review I’ll be taking a look at the UFO TV Series 8 Disc DVD Megaset. If you’re a fan of early science fiction TV series, vintage British TV and/or shows by Gerry Anderson you’ve probably heard of this 26 episode series that depicts a secret organization fighting off aliens intent of invading Earth. How does this DVD set stack up and how do the shows hold up after 40 years? Let’s find out…

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I won’t go over the whole backstory of UFO, but the premise of the show was that a high-tech secret organization called SHADO was waging a secret war against alien attackers. Leading the charge were Commander Ed Straker, played by Ed Bishop, and Colonel Paul Foster, played by Michael Billington. The series was set in 1980 and it assumed that human’s had achieved moon colonization by that point and a much more extensive space travel system than we have today. The stories were known for their more adult leaning themes, such as relationship problems encountered by those in important covert jobs and making life and death choices. Some episodes were censored because of dialog and actions that were provocative at the time and would still be considered slightly edgy even today.

UFO was filmed and released in 1969 and 1970 and was the first live action TV show by Gerry Anderson. Anderson was previously known for creating the kid’s Supermarionation series like Thunderbirds. Like many independently produced TV shows in those days, it was on a limited budget. Anderson’s team used this as an advantage by setting a large portion of the series on a movie studio backlot and being extraordinarily creative. Unfortunately, they ended up having a production break that resulted in some key actors leaving the series at the 2/3 point.

Overall, the series is both predictive of the future and silly with 1960’s style. One thing that most people recall about the UFO series are the campy purple wigs worn by Moonbase women and the mod look fashions worn by almost all of the characters. One thing that really places it in the 60’s is the smoking. They were even smoking in space! On the predictive side, they had car phones and cordless phones, spacecraft launched from planes and sophisticated electronic security systems. The series does have a number of plot holes and logical flaws but nothing too terrible.

The quality of these remastered DVD’s is excellent. Often older shows are hastily brought to market with little or no clean up. This isn’t the case with the UFO series DVDs. Not only is the video quality excellent and the sound clear but the extra features like commentary by the producers and actors and photo stills from every episode help round out the package. The street price on the UFO DVD Megaset is about $60-70 although if you’re patient you can often catch half price deals. If you’re a fan of the series or remember watching it when you were a kid in black & white, like I did, you’ll really enjoy it. If you haven’t seen the series and enjoy sci-fi TV shows with a dash of camp, UFO will be a treat for you.

I’ve heard that there is a remake film in the works that will have Fringe star Joshua Jackson in the role of Paul Foster. It will be interesting to see if that film will be as good as the original series or go off on some silly 2010’s tangent. Anyway, I highly recommend the UFO TV Series DVD Megaset to all fans of classic sci-fi TV.

In today’s review, we’re going to take a look at a very cheap MP3 player, the RCA Jet 1GB Sport Media Player with FM Tuner. This inexpensive player is found today in various outlet stores and closeout web sites at a very good price, occasionally dropping below $10. In this review, we’ll take a look at how it performs and if there are any serious compromises built into it.

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First off, let’s take a look at the stats for the RCA Jet Sport Media Player S2001. This digital music player was built from the ground up with the workout market in mind. The outer case is rubberized and it’s water and sweat resistant. There’s also an arm band for workouts. And, something unique in MP3 players, it has an integrated Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator and a stopwatch with lap time. Other than that it’s your fairly typical, lower end, flash memory based MP3 player. It has 1GB of memory, FM with presets, MP3 and WMA/Protected WMA playback and recording. It does not have video or picture capability and it does not support subscription WMA music. The display is monochrome text and has adjustable brightness. It is powered by a lithium rechargeable battery.

Let’s first consider the sound quality of the RCA Jet MP3 player. I would give it average in this department. The EQ settings don’t really do a lot for my ears, especially when playing through a car interface rather than earphones. The sound is kind of flat, unlike what I’ve heard from Sansa and other players. With headphones, it’s a little better although the provided clip-on headset phones aren’t very good. As always, I recommend getting a better pair of ear buds.

The user interface of the RCA Jet player is rather difficult to navigate. I’m used to the more intuitive controls on the Sansa and iPod and I found this one rather obtuse in comparison. Another annoyance is that the player doesn’t seem to have a means to pickup playing again where you stopped. So, if you turn off the player you have to scroll back to the song you were on, provided you remember it.

Battery life for the RCA Jet is advertised at 15 hours but, from what I saw in practice, it was about half of this. Of course, I was testing a returned unit but I’ve heard similar reports from others.

Lastly, the durability and quality of the RCA Jet Sport MP3 player is a bit questionable in my mind. For a player that’s supposed to be for workouts, it seems to get a lot of returns for failed buttons or other problems. It seems like the actual buttons behind the rubber sleeve must be a bit too cheap.

All in all, the RCA Jet 1GB Sport Media Player S2001 is a super cheap MP3 player that is far from perfect. In fact, you might call it a disposable MP3 player, especially if you can get it for under around $15. Just bear in mind that it probably won’t hold up long and some of its built-in annoyances might have you slamming it up against the wall, resulting in a premature demise.

n today’s review I’m taking a look at the Sansa Fuze 4GB Media Player. This player has been around for a while and is now making the rounds in the closeout and refurb market, often at a substantial discount over the original, $100+, retail price. Is it worth spending $30-50 dollars on it. How does it perform? What should you watch out for with this player? How about the features? Let’s find out…

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I’ve owned several Sansa MP3 Players and the Fuze 4GB Media Player has also worked out rather well for me. The player has a rubberized grip surface on the back that makes it less likely to slip from your hand and to not go flying all under the seat when you’re using it while driving. Speaking of using it while driving, the on screen user interface and the clickwheel interface are easy to use. With a little practice you can operate it by touch without any problem.

In terms of features, the Sansa Fuze 4GB Media Player will play MP3’s and WMA’s, including protected WMAs. It will also play subscription songs from services like Rhapsody, an important feature to me. The player also has a FM radio with 40 channel presets as well as voice recording (I don’t use these features myself). While it does have video support for MPEG-4 files, really, who wants to watch low quality video on a 220 x 176 pixel screen? The memory can be expanded by plugging in a microSD card. However, this memory isn’t shared with the onboard memory and can’t be used with subscription or protected downloads, limiting its usefulness.

The overall sound quality of the Sansa Fuze Media Player is quite good. Of course, the quality you get depends on the file compression and other factors. The built in EQ settings help compensate somewhat but don’t expect a full audiophile experience from it. The earbud headphones that are usually provided with the unit are OK but I prefer to swap them out with better quality headphones. The life of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery is around 18-20 hours for me. Sansa says 24 hours but this seems to be a bit of a stretch. There is a 8GB model around so if you need more memory, see if you can find it for about $20-30 more than the 4GB unit.

One thing I don’t like about the Sansa Fuze is that it uses a proprietary USB cable instead of the standard mini-USB. In the past, there have been problems with firmware updates not working. You’ll probably see this mentioned in other, older, reviews. I am happy to say that Sandisk seems to be issuing much better updates these days. Even my older Sansa Rhapsody player was brought back to life with a good update (finally!).

Unless you’re married to the more expensive Apple iPod and iTunes route, I highly recommend the Sansa Fuze 4GB Media Player. I do recommend that you check any seller out that you buy from to insure that they have a good return policy, especially if you’re buying a refurbished or used player. Also make sure the cable is included in the package since it is a proprietary one.

In today’s review I’m taking a look at the Kodak EasyShare Z1085IS Digital Camera. This 10 megapixel digital camera is yet another Kodak model that has hit the closeout and refurb market rather quickly. Is it like other Kodak digital cameras I’ve tried out and found them disappointing? Read more to find out…

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The Kodak Z1085 has the standard features you would expect on a digital camera today: 5x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, scene specific photo modes and scene detection and capture modes. The camera is capable of taking HD video in the 16:9 format for viewing on HDTVs. It also features a high ISO mode, up to 12,800, and onboard panorama photo stitching. Some of the interesting bells-and-whistles this camera has are a multimedia slideshow mode, voice and text picture tagging and a ’share’ button to flag favorite photos for sharing later. It only has 32mb of onboard memory so buying a memory card with it is necessary. The camera’s power can be provided by the included CR-V3 battery pack or by regular AA batteries. The LCD is 2.5 inches which is on the smaller side of average with today’s cameras.

Stylistically, the Kodak EasyShare Z1085IS doesn’t win any prizes. Due to its support of AA batteries and the lens it’s bulky as compared to the more popular slim cameras. You won’t be slipping this camera in and out of your pocket. The user interface of the camera is good and easy to understand. Some advanced features take a look work to find but most people won’t be using them anyway. The camera has a bit of a cheap feel to it although I think it would be durable as long as it was handled with decent care. 

Taking photos with the Z1085 in its automatic mode is pretty simple and, like most point-and-shoot digital cameras in this price range, it’s hard to take a bad picture. The 5x zoom is nice, considering that most similarly priced cameras only have 3x. The high ISO modes sound good on paper but are pretty useless. Back in my film photography days I often used 800 and 1600 ISO films and even at 800 ISO this camera fails miserably. If you’re wanting this kind of low light photography in a digital package, this isn’t the camera for you. The photos taken with the EasyShare Z1085IS in good lighting where the auto features are there to help are generally good. The colors, contrast and balance were as good as other cameras in this price range. The video, which is 720p HD, is OK. Sometimes its automatic adjustments get in the way. You won’t be filming the next Cloverfield on it but it will do for putting a friend’s silly antics on YouTube.

Now we get to the bad things about this camera and I found two.

First, the battery life seemed awfully short. Granted, I was working with a returned unit but I did try it out with a new CR-V3 battery and AAs. In both cases, I only got about 30 pictures before the camera died with the fully charged battery pack and only 17 from the AA batteries. Should you buy this camera I recommend buying an extra battery pack or two for it. The other problem I encountered with the Kodak Z1085 was sluggish performance. It took nearly 5 seconds for the camera to boot up, which I found annoying. The lag time between shots was also annoying, reminding me of an early digital camera I had 10 years ago. It does have a burst photo mode but this isn’t as good as other cameras I’ve used in the same price range.

The bottom line on the Kodak EasyShare Z1085IS Digital Camera is that it’s a decent, average, digital camera for average photo taking that has a lot of questionable features shoehorned into it for marketing purposes. Given the performance problems, I’d be hesitant to recommend buying this camera unless you found a great deal, under $90, and the seller offering it had a good return policy.

Canon U.S.A. recently introduced new models that should go on sale by September. These new models include the ImageClass MF8050Cn and MF8350Cdn all-in-one color laser printers, the Pixma MP560 and MP490 all-in-one inkjets and the Selphy CP790 dye-sub printer.

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The Canon ImageClass MF8050Cn ($499 list) and the MF8350Cdn ($699 list) all-in-one multifunction color laser printers appear to be targeted toward the small office/home office with color printing needs. Like many newer printers these two models feature both a USB 2.0 connection and an Ethernet port. The MF8350Cdn is faster, as you might expect. Both seem to support both copying, duplex printing and faxing but the press release is a bit slack on the specifics. As I get more details I’ll fill these in or post a full review.

The Canon Pixma MP560 ($149.99 list) is an all-in-one multifunction color inkjet printer intended primarily for the home photo printing market. It uses the 5 individual ink tank system, supports duplex printing and works with PictBridge-compatible digital cameras. It has the standard USB port plus Wi-Fi 802.11b and g protocols. I think they should have added in the ‘n’ protocol as well to differentiate themselves from competitors in the same price range. The Canon Pixma MP490 ($99 list) looks like a stripped down, entry level model. It’s unclear from the press release what features this printer has, aside from a 4 tank printing system, but I’ll be filling these in as I get them.

The Canon Selphy CP790 (list $179.99) is dye-sub compact photo printer. This printer is a bright green and comes with a whimsical plastic bucket to carry the printer and accessories. It features the ability, with the addition of an $80 battery pack, to go completely portable. It will be interesting to see how long that battery pack lasts in the field while printing. It looks like this printer is intended for teen and young adult market, although it seems a bit on the pricey side for that in the current economic climate.

According to the press release from Canon, all of these new printers will work with PCs, including Vista and Windows 7, and Mac. They’re also supposed to be ‘green’ if that’s a concern for you.

Based on what I’ve seen from other Canon printers the MF8050Cn, MF8350Cdn, MP560, MP490 and CP790 should be good printers. I’m looking forward to testing them out sometime in the next few months. When I do, look for my full review of these printers.

In today’s review we’re taking a look at the Canon PowerShot A1100 IS Digital Camera. For the most part, I’ve liked other Canon point-and-shoot digital cameras I’ve reviewed. What did I like and not like about this 12 megapixel Canon camera?

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The Canon A1100 has all of the usual features you would expect in the $150-$200 price range: 12.1-megapixel resolution, 4x optical zoom, an optical image stabilizer, face recognition technology,  contrast and red eye correction, scene presets and PictBridge compatibility. It also has additional enhancements for interfacing with Canon Pixma printers. The LCD is 2.5 inches. It doesn’t have any onboard memory but you’ll find it packaged with a 128MB SD card so buying a larger SD card is a must with this camera. It runs off of 2 AA batteries. You can find this camera in blue, green, gray, and pink.

One thing I noticed about the PowerShot A1100 camera right away is the bulk. It’s much fatter than some of it’s comparably price competition, mainly because of the AA batteries. So if you’re looking for an ultra-thin camera, you need to look elsewhere. It won’t slip easily into a pocket or purse and you’ll feel the bulk.

The AA batteries used by the A1110 and some other Canon models as well are a trade off to me. I’ve found that you get less life out of them than you do with a standard Lithium Ion packs but you can find replacements anywhere and you don’t feel upset if you lose it like you do when you lose a $30+ battery pack. In the test shooting I did with this camera (a returned unit), I got about 100 shots before the previously unused batteries died completely.

The LCD screen on the PowerShot A1100 camera seems a bit on the small side and lackluster as compared to some other cameras I’ve used recently. The user interface is almost exactly like other Canon digital cameras so if you’ve used one before you’ll be comfortable with this one as well. You can’t go completely manual with this camera but, for most camera users in this price range, this isn’t a problem since the automatic modes will generally do much better. One cool thing about this camera is that it does have a viewfinder, a rarity today and something appreciated by us ‘old school’ photographers.

The picture quality of the Canon PowerShot A1100 is everything I’ve come to expect from Canon digital cameras. The image quality was great, especially for close-ups. My observation has been that sometimes you have to tell these cameras which scene mode to select since odd lighting conditions can confused them. Depending too much on auto modes can result in poorer pictures sometimes.

What I didn’t like about the Canon A1100 Digital Camera? One complaint I’ve had about other Canon’s is the comparatively slow shutter speed and recovery time between pictures. This camera could benefit from a rapid shutter mode. The hinge on the battery door might be an area for concern since it will end up being operated so much with the batteries. I’ve had cameras like this break at this point with long term use.

Do I recommend the Canon PowerShot A1100 IS Digital Camera? I’d give it a guarded yes. I like the picture quality, especially for indoor and close up shots where lighting can be controlled. The AA batteries are a trade-off for the purchaser to consider. The viewfinder is a big plus for old schoolers. At the list price of $199, I think there are some better choices out there. However, you can find discounts around if you look, sometimes lower than the average street price of $169.