When you go off to college it’s an exciting time. You are finally alone, out in the open world without anyone telling you what to do. It’s your chance to have the best time of your life. But there’s only one downside. You will probably end up in a college dorm room and they’re not the most fancy places to live in the world. There’s nothing bad about them, but they can be made a lot better.

You just need to equip your room with lots of fantastic gadgets. Take advantage of the technology that keeps getting churned out and make your life a lot easier. It will make your time at college a much more enjoyable place. There’s a lot to choose from and it can be pretty overwhelming, but not anymore because we’re going to have a look at 5 gadgets you should have in your dorm room.

IRobot Roomba 530

You’re all on your own now. No more mom to come into your room and clean up for you. If you don’t keep your room tidy you have to sleep in filth. There’s an easy way to keep your room clean and it’s called the iRobot Roomba 530. Just let it loose on the floor and it will use its built-in dirt detection technology to go around the room vacuuming up 98% of the dust and dirt. Life couldn’t get easier. Who needs mom?

A single-serve coffee maker

You will need to drink plenty of coffee when you are trying to stay awake during those late nights studying for an exam. Students aren’t known for having lots of money, so you definitely won’t be able to walk to Starbucks when you need come caffeine. That’s why a coffee machine in your dorm room is pretty important. You definitely won’t regret buying one of these.

A cheap microwave

A microwave is always handy for quick meals when you are too busy to walk to the cafeteria. They also come in handy when you want to heat up your Chinese takeaway from the night before. There’s no need to go crazy and spend loads of money. A cheap one will definitely cater to your needs and leave you with plenty of cash for beer. But if you must get one with an in-built pizza over I’m not stopping you.

A nice set of speakers

You can’t live in a dorm room without some speakers. I think there’s some unwritten law somewhere that says they’re a requirement. If you can afford some wireless ones it’s even better. Now you can look forward to some banging on your door when your neighbor can’t get to sleep. Maybe get some headphones as well to wear at night.

A great alarm clock

I say great because you need something loud enough to wake you up when you’ve had too much alcohol the night before. If you decide to stick with your phone you could find yourself missing more classes than you’d like. There’s a few cool ones you can buy that are a lot harder to hit the snooze on. Might be a good idea, yeah?

Roger Franklin is an expert home decor professional who is also an active member of prestige homes melbourne association.

Looking for hot new techno trends that can also save you a lot of money? If so, then you should definitely look into VOIP. VOIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol – a fancy term for a simple concept: voice calls over an Internet connection (as opposed to the traditional land line). Are you interested in learning more about what VOIP can do for you? If so, check out these five reasons you should use a VOIP service:

Ease of set up, maintenance, and upgrading. The reason VOIP is so easy in all these regards is that it cuts out the need for hardware, and the VOIP service takes care of all your other needs. That means that if you have a technical issue or want to change or upgrade your service, there is no line to be fixed – no service call and waiting for days for a repair. To use VOIP, you simply install some software and update it regularly (which takes just a few keystrokes).

Flexibility. In addition to all the great features you can get when you use a VOIP service (call redirection and hold, for example, all done through your computer), you can also use VOIP for very complex network setups that you would never be able to do using a landline service (at least not without a lot of extra equipment). This makes VOIP a perfect choice for businesses as well as homeowners.

Cost. No matter how you cut it, chances are you will save a lot of money by using a VOIP service, as opposed to a traditional landline company. A typical unlimited national level plan might cost as little as six dollars per month. VOIP call savings even applies to overseas calls that can cost as little as pennies on the dollar, depending on your service provider and plan.

Quality. VOIP calls are almost always clearer and crisper than land line phone calls. That is because the calls are transported digitally, meaning the sound waves are converted to digital units before they travel to you and there is no degradation through a cable.

Numerous users on one access line. Using VOIP, you are not limited in regards to how many people can communicate at one time on the line. That means that your voice calls may be between two, three, or ten (or more) people, depending on what your needs are.

As you can see, there are a lot of great reasons for why you should be using a VOIP service. There are many service providers to choose from, so explore your options to find the one that is right for you.

About the Author: Rivka Monigold has been comparing business phone systems for her new office and has settled on a VoIP system for ease of use, cost, and the potential for greater use as her business grows!

Many of us have headphones and no matter what kind you have, you should wake up each day knowing they are going to give you everything that you need. It doesn’t matter what you use them for because everyone has their very own unique needs but you should definitely be getting everything (if not more) than what you need.

We have noticed a lot of people lately complaining about their headsets and it got us thinking, why do these people put up with the headphones they have when there are much better options out there for them to enjoy? This is why we have decided to talk to you about some of the reason that may come up that have you considering a new pair. Yes, we realize you love the ones you currently have and that they may even have sentimental value but nothing compares to having that perfect set that gives you the comfort ability you need while also supplying you with that perfect amount of functionality. We think you deserve to have the best of both worlds because there are much more options out there than ever before.

Sound Quality Isn’t What it Used to Be

Sound quality is something that you just can’t beat these days. It seems like every time you turn around, the quality that is available just keeps getting better. If you are noticing a lot of scratchy noises or just aren’t able to hear as well as you were, then it may be time to invest in a brand new set. Not only are they extremely affordable these days but they are going to last you much longer. Headsets are tougher and durable in a way that just wasn’t available in the past. Plus, they typically come with fantastic warranties so you never have to worry about needing to waste your money on a set that isn’t going to last you as promised.

You’re Not Comfortable Anymore

One of the things many people complain about is that their headset just isn’t comfortable. If this sounds like what you are experiencing, then you may want to check out all of your options. Honestly, your headset should be something you barely notice. It’s not meant to feel as though you are wearing a set. You want your ears to be able to handle wearing them for long periods of time so that you don’t have to take breaks when they aren’t necessary. Comfort is something more brands are focusing on these days and something we think you should make sure to put quite a bit of your focus on.

You Need To Be More Mobile

Have you ever had to get up from your computer, but were tied down by a chord so you had to tell the person you are talking to that you would be right back? While this used to be the only option in the past, these days you can have a headset that is completely wireless. Of course, this means you are going to need to charge but honestly a lot of wireless headsets these days are literally able to hold their charge for up to about 10 hours. With that much time, you should be able to get everything you need done and then some. On top of that, if you aren’t planning on being mobile a lot of the time, you can even charge your headset while you are using them. This can slow down the charging a bit, but you won’t notice any changes in the quality of your ability to hear or use your headset’s features.

You Are Missing Important Features

Have you noticed that your headsets seem behind the times? Maybe you play a lot of games these days and would like to have additional buttons on the side of your set that can help you play your games quicker or maybe you want to be able to pause, play, rewind and fast forward the music you are listening to when you aren’t near your computer. Think about these types of things before you make your final decision so you have the best experience possible.

Don’t Make Your Choice Based on Other’s Needs

One thing you need to keep in mind when selecting the proper headset is that you should never select the brand or style based on what others need. Take a moment to think about what you are going to use them for the most. What are some features you cannot live without? How long do you need to be able to be wireless without needing to charge? At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you are happy because we all live unique lives and need various things in order to make us happy.

David Ashford writes on tech and gadgets topics. He primarily writes about computer headsets and provides expert advice to readers buying headsets for mobile phones, office usage and PC.

Although the majority of the more ‘modern’ laptops that are currently on the market boast large screens that are ideal for personal viewing; sharing laptop content such as films, television programmes and even pictures with a larger audience can be trickier. In these situations, using a TV screen or monitor can often make for a much more immersive viewing experience.

There are several different ways to watch this type of content on a TV, some of which involve purchasing additional cables and adaptors, so how you connect will largely depend on both your budget and your existing arsenal of specialist equipment.

S-Video

Connecting your laptop to the TV via an S-video cable may not produce the best picture, but as the majority of laptops have S-Video ports, it may be the most convenient option. To do this, you will need to have one set of cables for audio and one for video, although these are generally sold together in most technology shops. Make sure you check the length of these cables before buying them, to ensure they give you enough space between your laptop and TV.

Plug the S-video cable into the relevant port on your laptop and the corresponding socket at the back of your TV set, before connecting an audio cable from the headphone port on your laptop to the TV’s audio socket, and you should be ready to go. If you struggle to get your hands on an S-video cable, you can always replace it with a VGA cable.

HDMI

HDMI, or High Definition Multimedia Interface, is one of the most recent laptop to TV solutions, and arguably provides a better quality picture than some of the more primitive alternatives. Unlike the S-Video and VGA cable, a HDMI cable carries both the video and audio signal from the laptop to the screen, so you don’t need to contend with different cables and ports – it’s a simple case of plug and play.

If you are not lucky enough to own a laptop with a dedicated HDMI port, there are a number of affordable adaptors on the market that can still give you the opportunity to take advantage of the superior quality of HDMI, making this one of the most popular options.

Wireless options

Connecting your laptop to your TV wirelessly is another ideal solution for the particularly tech savvy – the set-up can be quite complicated, unless you have the right equipment and know-how to do the job.

If connecting wirelessly is the best option for you, then one of the easiest ways to achieve this is to invest in a signal receiver, which can plug into either the VGA or HDMI ports and pick up a signal from your laptop by “reading” the content.

There are also devices such as the Netgear “Push2TV” box that you can use to wirelessly stream your content to a television, although these can be quite expensive – so the ideal wireless solution will very much depend on your budget and level of expertise.

As far as health and fitness is concerned, no other activity can provide a full body workout like swimming. Research has repeatedly shown that swimming has a number of benefits that few other activities can provide. A good swim session allows an individual to build and tone muscle, lose weight and get a good cardio workout. Hence, it is not surprising that an increasing number of people are taking up swimming as the preferred activity to stay fit. In order to tap into this growing market, swimming equipment manufacturers are designing and producing some amazing gadgets for swimmers. Here are three gadgets for swimmers that are worth investing in:

Speedo LZR Racer Aquabeat MP3 Player

Nothing pumps people up for exercise like having their favorite beats thumping their ear drums. While listening to music has never been a problem for runners and cyclists, swimmers have had to make do without their favorite tunes. Thankfully, it is now possible to purchase MP3 players specifically designed for the needs of a swimmer. The high amount of work involved in making these MP3 players means that the market is not flooded with options, but the ones that are available can guarantee quality. Speedo has been the world leader for decades as far as swimming equipment is concerned. The superior quality usually expected from Speedo products is reflected in their LZR Racer Aquabeat MP3 player. Simply strap it onto your swimming goggles and enjoy 2GBs worth of music through the excellent waterproof headphones.

Finis Lap Track Underwater Lap Counter & Timer

Any swimmer can vouch for the fact that improving lap times are the best indicator of improving fitness levels. However, keeping a track of your lap timings can be very difficult task while swimming. Unless you have someone timing your laps with a stopwatch, it is impossible to know what your lap times are. If you swim all by yourself, consider investing in the Finis Lap Track Underwater Lap Counter and Timer. Attach it onto the sidewalls of the swimming pool and it will keep a track of every lap you make, up to 50 laps. At the touch of a button, it will show you detailed information for the last 50 laps that you completed; a very handy tool for keeping track on your progress. Enter the length of the pool and your weight to see how many calories you have burnt in the session.

Aquapulse Heart Rate Monitor

Most heart rate monitors resemble wristwatches and you constantly have to look at them to know what your heart rate is. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to realize that checking your wrists to keep a tab on your heart rate is more than just inconvenient while swimming, it is almost impossible. What makes the Aquapulse heart rate monitor stand out is that it feeds you the information vocally. Strap it onto your swimming goggles, connect the sensor plate to your earlobe and the Aquapulse heart rate monitor will tell you the heart rate at periodic intervals. Using a MP3 player at the same time? No problem. The Aquapulse heart rate monitor does not require you to wear an earpiece; it transmits audio information to the inner ear via your jawbone.

Swimming is undoubtedly the best way to stay fit and investing in these gadgets will allow any swimmer to enhance their swimming experience.

Stephen Cole is a professional tech blogger and provides informative guidance to all athletes about essential gadgets. He is also a bodybuilder who believes in using quality fitness equipment.