The Observer, September 9, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 2
Nifty gadgets add high-tech excitement to dorm life
Now that the academic year has resumed, tricks and gadgets for saving time will become invaluable around campus. To save you some time wandering aimlessly through the aisles of Best Buy, here's a list of must-have toys that are guaranteed to be a little out there, a total waste of your money, yet completely necessary for survival.
All-In-One Printer
Fighting the crowds between classes at Nord is never fun. So buy your own printer and charge those people crying outside the lab 10 cents per page to use it. Make copies of handouts, scan stolen lab reports – do it all with the All-in-One. There are a lot of choices, but there's only one place to go for the most bang for your buck: Dell. Lexmark printers are currently only $59 for a Photo All-In-One Printer 922.
USB Flash Drive
Let's say you don't have the space to put a printer in your room. No worries, just go to class a little early to print from Nord. Only e-mail is down, your ftp isn't working, and your computer doesn't have a floppy drive. What do you do? Whip out your keychain, on which is attached an Über-tiny, portable USB flash drive. Sure it looks dorky, but it will save your life many times over. Size doesn't really matter, but price does. The Sandisk USB Mini Flash Drive is $65.88 for 1GB, $37.44 for 512MB or $24.51 for 256MB (prices from newegg.com). It's up to you decide just how nerdy you are.
Spy Camera
The following is a true story; the names have been altered to protect the innocent. "Bob," a freshman, decided he wanted a way to see who was knocking at his door without getting out of bed. His answer: hidden spy camera mounted into the ceiling tile just outside his room. This tiny little device ran on a 9-volt battery and broadcasted its signal to his TV. I'm sure you can think of a million uses for such a camera – most of which I can't discuss in such an open forum. Everyone needs one, but you are going to have to go looking for it on your own (hint: ebay).
Speakers
The best investment you can make as a college student is a bumping set of speakers. If you want to make your room the place to be, get a set of 5.1 surround sound speakers. I recommend keeping it cheap; we aren't audiophiles around here. The easy way to buy speakers is to look at the number of watts. Logitech makes the X-530 70 Watt system for $41.98. Need a little more oomph? The Logitech THX Z-5300e 280 Watt is only $138. Still haven't woken up everyone in Tyler? The Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 470 Watt for $302.99 is what you need (all prices from newegg.com). But what about that $%@&! 23.5 hour quiet rule during finals? Read on.
Headphones
So your roommate wants to go to sleep, but you've got 10 more pages of French to write? Everyone knows that a little Mozart goes a long way while studying and your damned small iPod headphones won't stay in your ears. You've got two choices: go cheap or go all out. Amazon sells the Sennheiser HD-497's for $40 with free shipping. These cans will sound great in any device, even without an amplifier. But once you hear a good pair of headphones, like the Grado RS1 (with handcrafted Mahogany ear pieces) or Sennhesier HD 650 you won't stand for anything less. Sadly, not all of us have a cool grand to spend on a headphone/amplifier combo.
Roomba
I'm sure you never realized how much hair you shed until you came to college, nor what a pain in the butt vacuuming is. Solution: a personal robot friend who will vacuum, bring you Starbucks, and cure male pattern baldness. Okay, the Roomba will only do one of the above, but it does it well. The little disk-shaped gadget will clean your room for only $149.99 for the basic version, up to $329.99 for the personal slave version (order direct from irobot.com). Plus there is a pink Roomba for $180, with 20% of its proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Keep your room clean and fight breast cancer – it's a win-win situation.
So whip out your Visa and order some sweet gear to make your room really kickin'. You'll gain some convenience, some awed admirers, and a slightly lighter wallet.
