Rave and Review

Free Sheet Battery Offer with Sony VAIO S Series Laptop {$150 ARV ends 12/31}

Are you in the market for a new laptop?  Check out this awesome deal that includes one of the most raved about laptops of the year and the amazing sheet battery, which gives you power all day!  Whether you travel a lot and need your laptop for long stretches of time or you simply like to go cord-free at home, the Sony sheet battery will soon become your new laptop must-have. 

Unlike other extended life batteries, the Sony sheet battery is so slim and lightweight that it's barely perceptible when it's attached to the laptop over the internal battery.  Since the Sony VAIO S Series is one of the lightest in its class and the sheet battery adds a negliable weight, you will be as surprised as I was that it adds some serious power to an already amazing 6 hour battery life.  Not only does it give you a whopping 12 hours of power, it also has a great design that spreads the battery out over the entire base of the laptop, giving you a balanced work surface and a streamlined laptop that can fit into snug laptop cases, carry-ons, and briefcases.

Amazing, right?  So, what are you waiting for?  For a limited time the sheet battery is available for FREE {$150 ARV} when you buy a VAIO S 15.5" before 12/31 at retailers like Sony Style, Amazon, NewEgg.com, HH Gregg, Fry’s, Tiger Direct, and several other retailers across the country!

Here are some details on the deal that goes through 12/31 - www.sony.com/batteryoffer.

Sony VAIO S Series Features:

• Intel^® Core i5 or i7 processor for visibly smart performance
• Genuine Windows^® 7 Home Premium (other Windows editions available)
• Up to 12 hours battery life (with free extended sheet battery)¹
• 15.5" LED backlit Full HD display (1920 x 1080)
• AMD Radeon graphics with up to 1GB VRAM offers premium performance
• Available solid state drives for rapid boot-ups and quicker application access
• Type in low light with the backlit keyboard with integrated number pad
• Available with Blu-ray Disc or CD/DVD player/burner
• Protect your PC's data with fingerprint sensor and TPM
• USB 3.0 technology (transfer data up to 10X faster than USB 2.0)
• Starting at $999.99

A big thank you to Microsoft and Sony for sharing this special with us.  Stay tuned for additional posts about the Sony VAIO S Series and Microsoft SkyDrive as we get a chance to check some of them out.

Total Computer Protection with Kaspersky PURE {Review & Giveaway}

I resolve to... protect my digital world

Until a few years ago, I naively thought that my PC would be entirely safe just because it had a security software icon in the applications menu.  Since most of our computers were secondhand, I had not spent much time protecting much of anything, including my daily use laptop.

Recently, though, that secondhand laptop started running about as fast as my newborn and I would spend ALL DAY LONG waiting for pages to load or even waiting for the text I typed to finally appear in my word document.  Since a lot of what I do involves a computer, I'm sure you can imagine how fun I was to be around when it took all day to send one email.

I sent the unit in to IT and we heard the dreaded news: it was a virus, the kind that is almost impossible to detect until it slows your productivity to zero.  Thankfully, the computer contents were somewhat recoverable (after we paid a whole bunch to the professionals to clean it off again) but I learned a valuable lesson - my "security" software hadn't been working at all and I had blindly been trusting it with all of my precious digital files.

So, when I just got my brand new shiny laptop, literally the first thing I did after taking the plastic off the screen was install Kaspersky PURE on the hard drive.  The best part is that Kaspersky PURE all-in-one security is sold with a 3 computer license, so I was able to secure my new device, my husband's laptop, and our desktop dinosaur at the same time, all with the same software.  Even better is that you can actually control the settings for all computers on your network through one computer so you don’t have to update settings all three separately.

 We all know how easy it is to catch a virus from someone you spend a lot of time with, so it doesn't make sense to protect one computer from viruses and leave the other ones in close proximity exposed, especially if they are networked or are sharing files, as is often the case.  Whether you run your home network through one computer or simply do a lot of emailing files, sharing pictures or media libraries, it just makes sense to get them all protected at the same time.

After installing the software on all of our computers there are some things I noticed right away that I love and they go a long way in making me feel like my computer and home network are both finally secure.  The Kaspersky PURE application page is easy to use and shows at a glance that your computer is protected as well as the last time a scan was carried out.  It also serves as a great reminder to run file backups regularly, set and monitor parental controls, and secure your passwords.  It also shows you how many more days you have of protection at the bottom of the screen, a feature I love because I will then have enough warning to re-purchase the software before my last day runs out. 

 

 
As great as it is to see all of my security at a glance in the Kaspersky PURE application screen, I also love that I get alerts when the web page I am going to does not have an up-to-date security certificate, and really appreciate that downloaded files must be confirmed first and then are all scanned before downloading, because you would seriously not believe the amount of crazy attachments I get in my inbox each week.  Whether they are begging me to download it to get paid (P.S. if anyone DOES want to pay me, feel free to send cash from now on) or claiming I have won 1,000,000 pounds in a UK lottery I have never participated in, I am confident they won’t worm their way into my computer ever again. 

Kaspersky PURE will be available to the public January 24, 2011 at the Kaspersky Lab (Americas) home page or you can visit the PURE Product Page.

And, here's why Kaspersky PURE is worth waiting for:

• Award-winning protection against all Internet threats
• Run scans on any PC in your household to make sure they’re secure
• Automatic file backup and restore functions
• Data Encryption and File Shredder to make sure your private information stays private
• Award-winning parental controls keep your kids safe online, even when they are out of view with ability to limit access to the internet, web content, applications, games, and social networks
• Control over when and for how long your children can be online, or on the computer at all
• An integrated Password Manager to protect your identity
• Scheduled backup protects your photos, music, and financial data
• Encrypted vaults securely store valuable files
• On-screen Virtual Keyboard protects your passwords
• PC clean-up tools keep your system running smoothly
• Fix security issues before they become problems
• Best-in-class firewall blocks hacker attacks
• Small, frequent updates won't slow you down

 

Find out more at the Kaspersky Lab (Americas) home page: http://usa.kaspersky.com
and the PURE product page: http://usa.kaspersky.com/products-services/pure-thank-you
Be sure to connect with them Facebook and Twitter! 

 
One lucky Rave and Review reader will win their own 1 year 3-user Kaspersky PURE software!

To Enter: Simply check out Kaspersky Lab and tell me something you learned about their software products

And, as always, there are extra entries available!

1) Subscribe to Rave and Review, top of right sidebar (2 extra entries, must be verified to count)

2) Like Kaspersky Lab on Facebook (just leave your FB name here so I can verify)

3) Tweet about this Giveaway after following us both (daily Tweet, just post link here)

Total security in one package with the Kaspersky PURE I'm hoping to #win from @raveandreview and @Kaspersky (http://bit.ly/gY7H7Z)

4) Blog about this Giveaway with links back to this post as well as the www.raveandreview.com homepage (just post the URL where I can find your writeup)

5) Place my button or logo in your sidebar on your blog or website (2 extra entries, must have an active link to R&R)

6) Comment love.  Enter any of my other Giveaways and/or comment on any non-giveaway post!

7) Email love.  Share this Giveaway with friends and family via email and cc Leanne (at)raveandreview (dot) com (I will never, ever contact your email recipients)

8) Vote for Rave and Review on Top Baby Blogs, logo in right sidebar (daily entry, just tell me what rank R&R has)

On February 5th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen.  Giveaway open to US Addresses.

Winner, winner!  This giveaway is now closed.  Thank you to all who entered and congratulations to: #10  Cathy W said... http://twitter.com/cjwallace43/status/29074980645904384

A big thank you to Kaspersky PURE for providing the sample for review as well as offering a giveaway to our fabulous readers.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.

Bring on Tax Season!

Thank you to TurboTax for sponsoring my writing about household finances. Learn more about how TurboTax can help you find every tax deduction you deserve. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Am I the only one who loves tax season?  Not only is tax time a great opportunity to show off how completely organized I am with my important paperwork, it also usually means a refund will be mailed out to me in just a few short weeks.

Seriously, I look forward to tax time every year and even starting in November I start to organize all my yearly documents so I’m ready to go as soon as I collect all my wage and earnings records in January.  Maybe this is the bookkeeper in me, but I just love adding up all my receipts and bills and figuring out what’s owed to me each April. 

Many of you may be asking, if I’m so tax savvy, why on Earth I would set up our deductions so that we would get a refund at tax time?  As someone who has worked in HR for many {no, make that too many} years, I have helped many employees figure out their withholdings so that just the right amount of taxes are claimed with each pay period.  I get it, it does make sense to put more money in your pocket each week, it lets you control how you spend it, and, as my brother-in-law always says, it doesn’t give the government your money "interest free" until tax season each year... blah blah blah.

While I can appreciate the person who has this all figured out and goes into tax season knowing that under $20 will be changing hands when the tax man cometh, I also think there’s something to be said for having a bit more in taxes taken out than you need to… just in case.  As in, just in case you win a large prize that you have to pay taxes on, have any 1099 income to report, or simply make more money than you expected and jump into a higher tax bracket.  While I’m still waiting on my winning number being drawn for a big ticket prize or that huge raise that’s going to jump us into the next tax bracket, I like having a “tax cushion”, especially when I see it as a refund in May.

I should clarify that just because I have this cushion it doesn’t mean that I’m lax about tracking my taxes, charitable donations, and deductions.  In reality it’s quite the opposite and I have not only a bulging “tax file” I update numerous times a week, I also subscribe to tax sites updates that pertain to me and my family’s finances.  While some might argue this is a bit overkill, to me, I see taxes as one of the biggest financial decisions I make each year.  When you’re talking about potentially owing thousands of dollars, I like to go in with a plan and know that I won’t be hit with any surprises or miss out on a deduction.

In fact, I love keeping tabs on our tax situation so much that when I found the Tax Calculator function on the TurboTax website, I was so incredibly excited that I called my husband over and we played with the program together.  We spent a lot of time perusing the site and even figured out our projected refund for April now with our brand new tax deduction {aka our new baby boy}.  If you haven’t already, you should go play around with some of the really cool features on the Turbo Tax website and see how your big life changes like buying a house, having a baby, or going back to school, can affect your tax situation throughout the year – not just at tax time!

So, what type of tax planner are you?  Do you calculate everything before you go into tax season and already know what to expect, do you usually owe in taxes, or are you like me and plan it so you get a refund?  No matter what type of financial planner you are (diligent, lazy, or indifferent) you can make sure you know what to expect each year coming into tax time!

Orb TV: Music and Videos Where You Want Them

I resolve to... watch TV on my own schedule

This last Christmas, in addition to sharing gifts and cards, our extended family wound up sharing our favorite You Tube videos from over the last year.  Unfortunately for us, this involved a lot of crowding around iPhones, straining to see and hear past everyone since there wasn’t a computer nearby that we could watch them on.   

Like most families these days, most of the videos we watch now are in digital format – whether that is streamed over the internet and watched via our smartphones or computers or it’s from our DVR.  Since we made the switch to digital entertainment and rarely buy DVDs anymore, we have saved a ton of space and money, but the problem lies in how to enjoy our digital files on the big screen where everyone can see them at once.  

That’s where the Orb TV comes in, helping you streamline your TV viewing and make watching shows from a variety of sources effortless and on demand.  In the past we’ve talked about the Orb Music Player and how easy it is to stream our digital music files where we want them, so needless to say, the release of the Orb TV was much anticipated at our house.

Like the Orb Music Player, the new Orb TV is a smartphone-controlled device that gives you access to your computer’s iTunes library, Hulu, Pandora and more and it connects directly to any home television.  This gives you access to your entire digital video library all at once, as well as all the internet has to offer, including that You Tube video everyone is talking about. 

Here’s how the Orb TV works: The Orb Caster software pulls files from your computer hard drive or from the internet and streams it to the Orb TV device, making your videos as well as internet media available for playing directly on your TV.  Then by using your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Android device over an 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi connection, you can control your entire digital library through the Orb TV device and enjoy unlimited entertainment at the touch of a button.

What’s great is that even the set up for the Orb TV is easy; you simply install the Orb Caster software on your computer, establish a connection to the Orb TV, and then connect it to your television with the included audio/video cables and a power cord.  Next you install the Orb Controller software on your smartphone and you’re ready to go.  The Orb Caster automatically converts media files into Orb-playable files and works with a variety of different media formats, both online and direct from your computer media, as well as those downloaded from most cameras.  

Besides giving you access to internet videos, the Orb TV also gives you a way to show any home videos or photos you have on your PC, Mac, or your home network.  So, now if you find yourself struggling to describe some amazing scenery from a recent vacation, or something cute your kids did you can simply pull out your smartphone and have the photos or videos playing on your TV in moments.  No more hunting for old camcorder tapes or huddling around a laptop on the kitchen counter, now you can watch from the comfort of your living room.

Controlling your TV directly from your smartphone allows you to pause, fast forward, rewind, and even turn up the volume from a distance without having to learn, carry or store another remote.  Perhaps best of all, every Orb device can support multiple users from multiple sources and you can control multiple devices at a time, essentially giving everyone in the family their own remote for all the Orb devices in your home.  This means that everyone in your family can have personalized access to their own media files easily, even if they are all on different computers, making every connected TV or radio in your home customizable for everyone. 

What’s truly awesome is that by using Orb’s Global Index, you can search for shows and videos just by entering in a keyword and letting them search for you!  This makes it easier than ever to catch your favorite shows without having to hunt for them online.

Another feature I really enjoy is that you can pull up all the same videos, music and photos directly from your home computer and enjoy them right on your smartphone.  So now you won’t have to worry about filling up the limited memory on your phone while still enjoying full access to all your media – and with the inclusion of Orb Live you can even enjoy these media files when you are away from home, which means you can now bore people with your vacation videos from anywhere. 

As with all streaming media devices, the quality of the videos will depend greatly on the internet connection and speed of the computer, which is something to keep in mind.  But, for those who are worried they don’t meet the minimum requirements suggested by Orb, you will be happy to note that we tried the Orb TV on a 5 + year old computer and found the video quality to be a bit less fluid than we are used to, but it was still very watchable.  Trying it on various computers around Rave Central – some even from the laptop graveyard – proved to have mixed results the more we stretched the minimum requirements.

If you’re looking for an easier way to enjoy your media files on the big screen or perhaps you’re like us and your office is not a place you like to hang out on your off hours, you will love the freedom the Orb TV gives you. 

Price: The Orb TV is available now from Orb Networks for $99. The Orb Controller software and the Orb Caster software are available as a free downloads from http://www.orb.com/ and the iTunes store.  ________________________________________
What's included
•    Orb TV hardware
•    External USB power adapter
•    Audio cable
•    Component cable
•    Composite cable
•    USB cable

Find out more at http://www.orb.com/

A big thank you to Orb Networks for sending their Orb TV for review.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.

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A Better World for Facebook: Where Good Deeds Get Rewarded

I really don’t have much time to play games these days, especially those online because when I do have free time all I want to do is roll around on the floor with my kiddos and have dance party after dance party.  While I will admit that I really miss my old computer games sometimes, I really don’t get that excited about the popular online games that everyone else seems to love.  For one, they all seem to be about war, fighting, or stealing.  Either that, or owning a farm.   

But, recently I was given the opportunity to check out the “A Better World” Facebook app from ToonUps which was actually pretty cute.  Of course, I might be a little bit biased because it does combine some of my favorite elements of computer games – creating avatars that look like family and friends and interacting with others during gameplay.  Oh yeah, and it’s also about being positive and making a difference, two things that we all could stand to do more of. 

Since we are right in the middle of the holiday season when everyone is reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the New Year, I thought this would be the perfect time to review A Better World for Facebook.  A Better World is a free app from ToonsUps that you can easily download and play via Facebook that gives you the option of inviting friends to join so you can interact with each other in the game, or you can play on your own. 

When you first download the game you are directed to create an avatar, which can be designed to look like yourself or you can use your imagination and choose between numerous different face, eyes, mouth, and nose shapes, hair styles, and even clothing styles.  I’ll admit I love creating avatars and trying to get the closest match to myself, my friends, or my family members, which is how I used to spend a great deal of my time on my favorite computer games. 

A Better World’s avatar creation function was just as much fun as I remembered them being, and I had a hard time deciding what I wanted my avatar to look like.  In the end I chose to design one that looked like me because I thought it would be a bit weird to “friend” people on the game with an avatar that looked nothing like me.  

Now that you have an avatar, you can play the games available in the A Better World app, which include the Gratitude Grotto, Positive Post and Thump-A-Thought where you can do good deeds and get rewarded, or you can play Three Cycle, an addicting game where you line up 3 or more like items in order to put them in the recycling bin.  You can also gift objects to friends in A Better World, as well as interact with them by leaving them positive notes and more.  

Not only are the games fun and fairly easy to learn, they are also a fun activity to share with your children to help them understand the importance of altruism and doing good.  Through A Better World on Facebook you can teach your kids the importance of giving back to their community, improving our world, and appreciating others – all while playing a game! 

To see a little more about the game, you can visit the A Better World Facebook Page.

A big thank you to Likeable Media for sending me the links to try out the ToonUps A Better World Facebook app and for sending me a gift card to thank me for participating in the testing process.  As always, all opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this rave review. 

DYMO LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo Professional Label Maker

I resolve to... streamline my office

Even a casual reader of this site knows how excited we get about organization.  And, if you saw our daily comings and goings you would completely understand why.  Like most parents, we are extremely busy with two small kids, work, a blog, and very busy social lives.  So, whether it’s a new magnetic board that we can jot notes on and keep coupons where we will use them or it’s an awesome system for mailings that keeps us on top of things, we love companies who know that simpler is better.

When talking about simplifying and organizing, you are likely talking about labeling as well.  Who wants to go digging for what they need when they can just label something once and always know where everything goes?  Now that we have so much to organize, a label maker really is a necessity more than a luxury, and it’s why I have had a DYMO on my wishlist for quite some time. 

Whereas other labelers simply create professional-looking stickers, DYMO takes label making to a whole new level.  This next level of labeling actually has some really cool real world applications other than making your files look pretty, and it’s really no wonder that people who are serious about labeling turn to DYMO first.

Case in point: we had a good friend stay with us last week who runs a very successful small company.  This friend used to ship all over the world for his company and spent an awful lot of time getting professional looking mailings ready for his customers.  He took one look at the DYMO LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo being reviewed on our desk and not only knew what awesomeness he was looking at, he also knew the model number.  Some might think this is a completely surprising response from a young guy barely in his 30s, but not to those who know DYMO. 

So, what’s so cool about this little label maker that it would actually spark conversations?  A lot, that’s what.  The LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo by DYMO is really the gold standard in professional label making for a number of reasons, which is why you will find it in small businesses, medical offices, and busy homes everywhere. 

The first thing I am raving about is the ease of setup of the 450 Twin Turbo and the very intuitive DYMO Label software that comes with it to help you make the most of your purchase.  The software makes it easy to get everything set up for professional looking mailings and even helps you manage your many addresses and contacts.  By being able to create labels directly from Microsoft Word or Outlook, it makes it easy to access your entire address book without having unnecessary data entry.

As someone who has created more labels than I care to remember in word document programs and have done my share of copying and pasting addresses and information into the labels on a blank sheet, I really love having all the info I need in one place and being able to retain it for future use.  It also solves another headache of the blank document for label making, and that is the struggle to get the right margins and label sizes programmed before you can print your first sheet.  Being able to print directly to the label maker without having to set up each label first and being able to print labels directly from your Outlook contacts is a huge time saver for me. 

What’s really cool is that after you import your addresses, the DYMO 450 is actually smart enough to correct US addresses with their Address Fixer ™ software and add the zip+4 codes that are recommended by the post office.  It even adds that fancy barcode system to the bottom of the address to make it even easier for your letter to make it to its destination with the added bonus of looking incredibly professional. 

Speaking of professional, it brings me to one of my favorite features of the 450 Twin Turbo, and that is the secondary roll printing capabilities that allows you to print both address labels and postage labels without swapping rolls in the middle of your project.  But, better yet is that I love that all I need is a simple scale (that weighs in ounces) and I can actually save a trip to the post office by printing my postage at home, which just might add years to my life.

When you are all plugged in a ready to go, you simply send your addresses to the label maker and marvel at the amazing speed of this little unit.  Having worked as an office manager for over a decade, I don’t think I have ever seen anything print quite like this at this quality.  We’re talking up to 71 labels per minute, which means you can have all your mailings done within minutes instead of the hours it used to take.  It also doesn’t require ink or toner because it uses a thermal printing process to make labels, a fact that is somewhat glossed over on the DYMO site but a feature I absolutely love.  

Before you go thinking that the DYMO Twin Turbo is only for people who ship mass quantities of stuff, you should also know that it is also really awesome for general labeling – which is what my doctor’s office uses it for on all patient files – as well as creative uses like name badges, home and office organization, and more.  

Find out more about the awesome DYMO LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo at Dymo.com  and connect with them @DymoTechnology on Twitter. 

A huge thank you to DYMO for sending the Label Writer 450 Twin Turbo for review.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.

Roxio Creator 2011 {Review & Giveaway}

Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide: Day 44

When we were at Sundance this year, 3D cameras, TVs and games were the main focus of many parties we went to.  Because our group held two filmmakers and a photographer, we spent a good deal of time talking to the creators of the newest technology.  What we found out was that many of these video cameras and still cameras cost more than my car and owning one wasn't likely to happen anytime soon.

Although I have owned an old stereo camera before, I have never actually owned a working 3D camera of any kind.  While some might say my camera collection is already complete, I had always held out hope I could create awesome 3D images and videos some day.

Roxio recognized this was probably the case for a lot of people and has now updated their Creator 2011 Media Suite to include 3D capabilities for both video and still images.  The really cool thing is that they don’t require you to use any specific cameras or equipment to get the 3D experience.  The software is smart enough to turn your normal everyday pictures and video into incredible 3D images after the footage is shot.  Or, if you want to shoot pictures specifically for 3D viewing you just follow the simple instructions for shooting specific left and right images and then meld them together into one shot to get the most depth possible.

The best part is all this technology is incredibly easy to use.  The process for creating your 3D image is basically as simple as choosing an image and telling the program to go for it, and within seconds you have the new image.  From there you can fine tune it by moving the right or left images closer or farther apart or rotating them to make sure it lines up properly.  While it is great to have the ability to make these adjustments, they were unnecessary in all the pictures I converted.

This ease of use continues through the rest of the Creator Media Suite where you are able to edit, copy and convert photos, music, videos and more.  With each different task there are easy to follow instructions as well as video tutorials that make every process simple and easy to do.  Knowing that these instructions are available throughout the whole project makes it a lot easier to jump in and really get creative, which will in turn make you happier with the finished product. 

What makes me truly happy with Roxio Creator is the fact that I can do everything I could possibly need to do with all my digital media without having to purchase and learn multiple programs.  As much as we love the new 3D option that was added in this new version, there are a bunch of other upgrades in the 2011 Roxio Creator that are perfect for digital sharing such as Facebook and YouTube uploading and the ability to stabilize hand held video shots, a feature I love because I can’t remember the last time I used a tripod. 

Speaking of video, do you have old VHS tapes just sitting around?  By adding the VHS to DVD hardware to your Roxio Creator program you can easily digitize your old VHS tapes, records and cassette tapes.  The VHS to DVD converter consists of an adapter that converts one of your USB ports into an RCA input so you can connect your old analog player directly to your computer.  From there you can edit and manipulate your music or videos just like the newest digital version and convert them to DVDs or convert them for playing on your iPod or other mp3 player. 

There are quite a few other video and photo editing software programs on the market, but I’ve never seen one that was so complete.   In addition to all the basic editing functions, Roxio Creator also adds so many cool features that no one else has.  As someone who is taking a whole lot of video these days and sharing them online (see my Flip SlideHD review) you can see why I am absolutely loving having all my editing tools in one place and all the extras the Roxio Creator Suite adds!

One lucky Rave and Review reader will win a Roxio Creator 2011 {ARV $99}! 

To Enter: Simply visit Roxio and tell me another product you would love to try

 And, as always, there are extra entries available!

1) Subscribe to Rave and Review, top of right sidebar (2 extra entries, must be verified to count)

2) Tweet about this giveaway using @raveandreview and @RoxioProducts with the link to this post (http://bit.ly/fS0SpK) after following us both (daily Tweet, just post link here)

3) Blog about this Giveaway with links back to this post as well as the www.raveandreview.com and Roxio homepage (2 extra entries, just post the URL where I can find your writeup)

4) Place my button in your sidebar on your blog or website (2 extra entries, must have an active link to R&R)

5) Comment love.  Enter any of my other Giveaways and/or comment on any non-giveaway post!

6) Email love.  Share this Giveaway with friends and family via email and cc Leanne (at)raveandreview (dot) com (I will never, ever contact your email recipients)

7) Vote for Rave and Review on Top Baby Blogs, logo in right sidebar (daily entry, just tell me what rank R&R has)

On January 28th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen.  Giveaway open to US Addresses only.

Winner, winner!  This giveaway is now closed.  Thank you to all who entered and congratulations to: #137 ohkeeka said...I'm an email subscriber (2)
A big thank you to Roxio for providing a sample suite for review as well as a giveaway to our fabulous readers.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.

Flip SlideHD Video Camera: The Ultimate Holiday Gift

Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide: Day 39

There used to be two types of parents - those who were always lamenting that they wished they had taken more video of their children, and those who missed being part of all their children's milestones because they were always behind the camera.  The new era of handheld video recorders has gone a long way in solving both of these dilemmas, and none more recognizably than the Flip Video Cam.

By revolutionizing the simplicity in which you can capture video, it makes it easier than ever to preserve all these precious memories forever.  Starting with its pocket or purse sized design, the Flip SlideHD is so easy to carry with you that you actually will.  That, combined with its one button ease of use that allows you to literally press and shoot means that anyone can do it easily. 

Its amazing portability and the fact that you can shoot handheld video without having to watch the action remotely through a viewfinder means that everyone will want to use it, and means a great deal more of those important milestones will be captured forever.  Imagine capturing all those adorable or hilarious videos of your family and friends while feeling like part of the action and less like the hired film crew. 

Better yet is that the Flip Cam is much less obtrusive than other video cameras, which allows you to interact with your child naturally and not have the whole mood of the room change as soon as the camera comes out.  We all know what it’s like when you see your children doing that adorable thing and you run to get your camera ready only to return and find the moment has passed and now your child is much more interested in your new toy.  The Flip solves that by being easier to keep with you, thus you are able to quickly grab it to capture video naturally, without always having to ask for a “do over”.   

For anyone that has resisted getting a handheld video recorder because they are worried about the quality of the videos they will take, you will be happy to note that they have really come a long way in very short amount of time. They now shoot videos that are not only high quality, they are also in High Definition, which makes them superior in image quality to our flip-out screen recorder -  as well as far better quality than the video camera I grew up with that is roughly the size of a small suitcase.

This great image quality of the Slide HD makes it possible to bring your Flip Videos successfully to the big screen.  By purchasing an additional HDMI cable, you can simply plug your Flip into your TV’s HDMI input and enjoy them immediately, even on the day they were taken. 

Even better than watching when you get home is that you can actually watch videos seconds after they were taken with the new Flip SlideHD.  By utilizing a screen that slides out and plays your newly shot videos across the length of the Flip, it gives you a much larger screen than other handheld video cameras.  This slide out touch screen allows you to immediately watch your footage and even to share with the video subject, a feature that my daughter is absolutely in love with because she loves watching videos of her and her friends.   

Now that you've carried the Flip with you and captured all this beautiful footage and replayed it over and over on the slide-out screen, the last step is to share the masterpieces you've created with loved ones on the other side of town or on the other side of the world.  I’m all about ease of use when it comes to electronics, so I love that the Flip Video SlideHD does away with big and bulky tapes that you then have to convert to digital video in order to share it with friends and family. 

Since the Flip is all-digital and designed to work directly with computers, it streamlines the downloading process and eliminates the need for converters, special programs, or even cables and cords.  You simply plug the built-in USB drive into your computer and download your video simply and easily.  Better yet is that the Flip video software is included directly on the recorder, with no need for CDs or internet downloads.  The Flip Slide HD also makes it incredibly simple to post video via YouTube, Facebook and more as well as making it easy to share right away with your loved ones. 
(here's a low-light video I shot of all the kidlets at a recent holiday gathering)

The past few years I have spent a lot of time researching handheld video recorders to find the best one for me and have made no secret of the fact that I have lusted over a Flip Video ever since they hit the market.  Although it just about killed me to wait and continue to use our big and bulky video camera, I can definitely say that it made me appreciate the ease of use and portability of the Flip cam even more. 

Gone are the days of debating whether you want to cart around the video camera only to be stuck behind it all day; now with the Flip you can capture video naturally and enjoy it right away! 

Go to http://www.theflip.com/ or click {here} to find the perfect Flip for you!

A big thank you to Flip Video for making all my dreams come true this holiday season and sending a SlideHD for review.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.

I made the switch to Microsoft Office 2010

Most everyone who knows me knows how much I adore Excel and how I use it daily.  If there’s a way to organize my thoughts in Excel, you can bet I’m doing it.  It’s basically the way I keep track of everything, including my review and giveaway schedule.  Since I have been using it daily for work and personal use as long as I can remember, I have taught myself a great deal and can now create complex formulas and tables within minutes.  The same is also true of the rest of the Microsoft Office Suite, and I really don’t know what I would do without it. 

In fact, there was a short period of time when my computer had a series of programs called “Star Office” and didn’t have Microsoft Office installed.  My husband can attest to how angry I got at these programs and cursed whoever thought they would be an adequate substitute for the Microsoft Office Suite.  It was a matter of days before my computer was updated to include the Excel, Word, and Publisher programs I rely on.  

Since I am such a huge fan of Microsoft Office, it would be surprising for most to find out that I was still running on Office 2003 up until a few days ago.  Sure, I had used other versions here and there, but on my home computer and laptop I had the old antiquated versions running. 

Most of my experience using the newer Office versions was at my last job when my boss was having a hard time with his upgrade to Office 2007 and would repeatedly call me in to help him out.  Ironically, my old work computer was also running Office 2000, but I have always been pretty good about figuring things out for myself and the newer Office Suite was no exception.   

Even though I had never worked on Microsoft Office 2010 before, it really only took me a few minutes to familiarize myself with the new menu functions and find all my old standby tools I use daily.  In fact, I found the 2010 to be much better looking and easier to navigate than my boss’ 2007 version which seemed very foreign at first and never got to the point where it felt natural.  The basic change between the two that I found was in the top menu bar which, in the 2010 version, is more of a mash-up of the old programs I adore and the newer Office Suites, which I think makes it far superior to the 2007 version. 

Those that have not made the upgrade from the old versions of Microsoft Office will adapt fairly easily to the 2010 version after a few days.  The hardest part for me was relearning the top navigation bar (or “ribbon interface”), but I found it very intuitive after only a day or two.  Instead of the huge change from 2003 to 2007, the switch to 2010 is more akin to getting a new laptop with all your old programs on it and then having to learning where to find your favorites.   

It even adds some features I am really excited to try out and hopefully teach myself how to fully utilize them as well, like OneNote and Microsoft Access, both of which I am completely unfamiliar with.  I am also thrilled to finally have PowerPoint (yes, I am a bit behind on the curve here) and create my own presentations. 

The new release is also designed to help you use web applications more effectively and import information into your documents.  I haven’t found all that useful so far, but I am really excited to explore them more, especially between Office and my smartphone using Microsoft Office 2010 Mobile. 

Another big change is the document sharing options.  Since I share documents with numerous other users, I like that the sharing options for your files are easier to navigate, which makes it more seamless to track changes and see everyone’s additions.  But, by far the best sharing option is the fact that you can now share documents and open them simultaneously on different computers instead of getting the “read only” notification. 

The one issue I do have with Microsoft Office 2010 is the fact that the other 4 computers in our house are not updated which makes sharing documents completely annoying.  The new Microsoft Word .docx files cannot be opened by older Word versions, which means that you have to save your document differently if you are going to be using it on un-updated workstations.  The same is true for Excel, which is a pain when I move from the laptop to the desktop and back.  While 2010 can open older documents just fine, going the other way causes quite a few headaches. 

Although I know how to save my files to avoid this incompatibility, the issue comes when you are sharing with other people via email and you don’t know what version of Office they have.  I would love it if the upgraded versions worked more seamlessly with the older versions, which would be much better than what I currently have to do just to move from each of my computers at home.  Hopefully I will be updating all of my computers this year, because it’s hard to remember to save my documents correctly to open them on all of my computers and this incompatibility might get old after a few months.

Microsoft Office 2010 Professional is available now and can be purchased with one license or you can get a bundle pack and install it on all of your computers at once.  I would highly recommend the bundle pack so you and other family members can share documents more seamlessly.  If you skipped the 2007 update, I would highly recommend upgrading to the 2010 version to see the new features and usability of the Microsoft Office Suite. 

Check out the Office Blog for more holiday inspiration and ways you can use Microsoft Office everyday:

•Save your recipes to OneNote 2010. Back up all your family’s favorites in this digital notebook, and never lose a recipe again using key    word search to locate that eggnog recipe.

•Check your shopping list twice with Excel 2010. Organize your holiday budget and keep track of wish lists for family, friends and loved ones. Access your shopping list on the go with Excel Mobile 2010 on your Windows Phone 7.

•Use the photo editing tools in Word 2010 to create your own greeting cards with real refrigerator status this year.

Price: Microsoft 2010 Home and Business single version download is $199 or $279 for the 3 user license.  The Microsoft 2010 Professional single version download is $349 or $499 for the 3 user license.  It should be noted that there is no longer an upgrade price, Microsoft has decided not to offer upgrade pricing anymore.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/
•         See more features and benefits of Office 2010 Professional {here}
•         Free trail available at www.office.com

A huge thank you to Microsoft for finally upgrading my computer and making me love Office even more.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation for this Rave Review.

Cisco Valet Wireless Router {Review & Giveaway

Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide: Day 27

I really like things that just work.  No complicated installation or start up process, no huge manual to read through, and I especially don’t like having to decide between options I don’t know the difference between.  Unfortunately, my previous wireless internet experience included all of these. 

After our first phone company supplied wireless router died, I decided I would just go buy a new one and have us up and running in no time, but the reality was a little different.  I ended up spending hours signing in to our network and running from computer to computer trying to get everything communicating like it had been.  If only I had the new Valet wireless router from Cisco back then. 

After my previous wireless experience I was pretty hesitant to go through the whole process again, but Cisco’s promise of setting your network up in minutes had me intrigued.  And sure enough, within minutes of opening the box I had our first computer running on our new wireless network.  And, when I say minutes I mean about five.  The process is completely automated for you and whittled down to as few steps as possible to make it so even someone with almost no computer experience can do it.

The setup includes connecting the wireless router to your modem and power, and then plugging in the included Easy Setup Key into your computer, and that’s pretty much it.  The Setup Key starts the installer software automatically, you then click on the button that pops up saying you’d like to connect to your new modem, and it does all the rest from there.  The next thing you know you are wirelessly connected to the internet with all your password and security settings programmed for you! 

Adding more computers or other devices is just as simple, you simply open the Cisco Connect software that was installed on your computer, select the option to add a device, and then take the Easy Setup Key to that device when prompted.  Once again all the settings are programmed in for you so you know it will work properly when you are done.

Once your wireless network is set up it’s easy to maintain by using the Cisco Connect software to make any necessary changes.  With Cisco Connect you can even set parental controls for each device on your network to ensure your children stay as safe as possible while on their computers by limiting the time they can go online as well as blocking particular sites.  You can also set up a wireless network here for when guests come over that is completely separate from the one your family uses so that all your computers stay locked down at all times. 

Having gone through this process on my own before and feeling like I was taking a correspondence course on computer programming to complete it, I was absolutely amazed at how simple Cisco has now made it.  This is great for people who are inexperienced with computers, but also great for those who have the necessary skills but would rather have it done for them.  Really, who doesn’t want something that just works, right out of the box?

For more information, visit http://www.thevalet.com/

 
One lucky Rave and Review reader will win a Cisco Valet Wireless Router of their very own!

To Enter: Simply visit thevalet.com and comment on something you learned about the company or a product feature you love

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On January 10th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen.  Giveaway open to US Addresses.

Winner, winner!  This giveaway is now closed.  Thank you to all who entered and congratulations to:

#168  pamela james said... entered the mixbook giveaway

A big thank you to Cisco Valet for providing the sample for review as well as offering a giveaway to our fabulous readers.  All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.