Fuji's Instax Mini 7S takes Instant COLOR photos

Fuji’s new Instax Mini 7S is not so cute, but cool. It is Polaroid-inspired, but without the “shake” and in COLOR. The camera is “retro” in style, showing remnants of those wonderful Bakelite radios (back in the day). Even so, instant color photos, who doesn’t want that? I’d buy it, what about you?

Vers Wood iPod Case, $39.99 and up

Vers Audio, Inc. is now selling handcrafted wooden iPod cases. The cases are made from mahogany, cherry wood and oak. Starting at $39.99.

Go to: Vers Audio Website

Swoopo is an online auction website that lets users bid on any item starting a $.12.

Auction anyone?!

Swoopo, derived in Germany and established in 2005, is an online auction site that is frequented by gadget seekers, recession bidders and first-timers looking to wheel and deal for that ultimate gadget. Swoopo debuted in the US in September 2008.

With a revenue of approximately $29 million, Swoopo is slowly becoming more popular in the United States due to economic hardships. “We are just following a very simple business model, one of the oldest in the book, we sell and buy quality products for low prices. It’s just like Wal-Mart, only our customers have more control of what and how they spend their money…”, says Iris Ostermaier, CFO of Swoopo, Inc.

So what should one expect when visiting Swoopo.com?

Here’s how it works, but beware, it gets confusing:

1. You find the item you want.

2. You load your PayPal, Debit or Credit Card with bid money.
You can buy BidPacks in the values of 40, 75, 150, 400 or 1000.

3. You bid on your item. This will cost you $.60 each time you bid.

Things to remember:
- Each time you bid, the price of the item goes up $.12 and the clock winds up 20 more seconds.
- The auction is timed and when the clock runs out the last-standing bidder wins the item at that price.

There’s Proof in the Pudding

A neat thing about this site is that you can look at ended auctions. This allows you to see how long the auction took place and what the customer was able to purchase and the final price. Usually it is anywhere from 20% to 65% less than the “Worth Up To” price.

Once those clocks run out, the lucky winners can

purchase those items at those low prices.

The Neatest Thing (in my opinion)

There is a feature on Swoopo called “Swoop It Now”. It’s an option to buy while the auction is still going. The costs of your item is finalized according to how many bids you have placed and the retail value of the item.

For example:

Item: iPod Touch 32GB Retail Value

In The End

Swoopo is easy bait for online bargain shoppers and deal “swoopers”. However, as with anything, there are some naysayers. MSN Money has deemed Swoopo as a “gambling, hustling rendition of eBay”, implying that the company jacks up the retail prices and the shipping prices to suffice for low price listings.

The Word from the Bird

I’d say go and check it out for yourself, you might Swoop some high-end, expensive gadget for almost nothing or you might get Swooped!

Go to: Swoopo Website

Lenovo's newest and latest computer security addition.

I can’t wait to buy one of these. You can load all of your treasured files, music and whatever else to this thing.

What is it?
A file storage device that will hold a gazillion files, and lock the device using a self-created pin number.

What’s the big deal?
This little power pack comes with 160GB/320GB memory. This machine is so secure, it has a numeric keypad that allows you to personalize the security pin number and lock and unlock the hard drive anytime you please.

Where to find it? www.lenovo.com/us/en/

Cost: $179

Microsoft Outlook can be easy.

Sometimes it pays to take the easy route. Outlook has a gazillion options and menu items. It could be hard to choose which ones you need and don’t need. So….take it easy. Simple shortcuts and changing some preferences can make Outlook work for you, not the other way around.

Here’s one for free:

How to Create a Signature in Outlook
[How to put a deep and thought-provoking quote at the end of all of your emails.]

1. From the main Microsoft Outlook window, find the “Tools” menu, click “Options”, and then click the “Mail Format” tab.

2. In the “Compose in this message format” list, click the message format that you want to use the signature with.

3. Under “Signature”, click “Signatures”, and then click “New.”

4. In the “Enter a name for your new signature” box, enter a name.

5. Under “Choose how to create your signature”, choose the option you want. Click “Next.”

6. In the “Signature text box”, type the text you want to have appear as your signature. You may also paste text from another program.

7. Click “Finish” when you have completed entering the new signature.

*Step-by step process is courtesy of www.ehow.com

These shortcuts should help us get a better outlook on Outlook:
Shortcuts