The Toyota Yaris sedan - ain’t she the prettiest little thing you’ve seen? Powered by a peppy 1.5 liter VVT-i four cylinder engine with a choice of manual or four-speed automatic gearboxes. With the current proce of gas, a lot of us will be taking a long, hard look at cars in this segment over the next few years. Toyota cars are renowned for their build quality and longevity. Many Echos (the Yaris precursor) have well over 150,000 miles on them (go take a look in EBay Motors) and still going strong. HIGHLY recommended.
If you read most reviews or comments about the MacBook Air, they go on about “Oh, it doesn’t have an optical drive” or “Oh dear - it only has one USB port” and on and on, and on, Ad Infinitum.
These people do not understand the true purpose of the Air. This computer was designed to meet the needs of the highly mobile professional, not people looking for a regular laptop or desktop replacement.
Mobile professionals will pay good money for something that is extraordinarily light and that has an uncompromised keyboard and screen…and the Air excels here, as well as having a decent 5-hour battery life, which is about right for someone sitting in an airport for a couple of hours and traveling a thousand miles or so between charges. Documents they are working on will likely either already be on the computer or they will be creating new ones - absolutely no need for an optical drive. Music will already be in iTunes and there is a headphone ack on the Air. They might be using a USB ThumbDrive to transfer files or make a backup, and there is a USB port as well. Continue reading ‘MacBook Air - most people JUST DON’T GET IT, do they?’
In 1921 the Parker Pen Co. introduced the Parker Duofold fountain pen. It was an immediate success. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used one to write the exploits of Sherlock Holmes. General Douglas MacArthur signed the document ending World War II in the Pacific with his 20 year old Duofold.
Continue reading ‘Best pen of all time - Parker Duofold’
The best cigarette lighter bar none is the BIC Maxi.
The BIC provides up to 3,000 lights, has a child-resistant action (the spring plate on the top has to be pressed down to activate the flint wheel), is exceptionally durable and reliable and provides a consistent height flame without any form of adjustment over its’ lifespan. Continue reading ‘The BIC Maxi Lighter’
For those of you that like the Pilot G2, but prefer a pen with a bit more “meat” on it, we suggest trying the G2 Pro. This uses the same refill as the G2, but with a slightly wider opaque barrel and a thicker rubberized grip and a metal clip, button and barrel end for a much more polished professional appearance.Available in several executive colors. Highly recommended.
This wireless router is currently (July 21st, 2008) available at Best Buy for $69 after an instant savings of $30. At that price, you need to run to the store and grab one. This router uses MIMO “smart antenna” technology to produce a VERY strong wireless signal that you’ll be able to receive all over your house, no matter how big it is. there are no external antennas like on all the previous models - this is actually a benefit - they can’t become misaligned or snag on anything - although you can’t upgrade them. Continue reading ‘Best Home Wireless Router - Linksys WRT160N for $69!!’
I write a LOT. Notes, journals, plans, diaries…you name it, I write it down :-) Although I use Google Docs for a lot of my day-to-day notes, you really need a small notebook and a good pen with you at all times for when you’re not sat at a computer. I’ve used a LOT of different pens, and many on the market are very poor in either ergonomics, construction quality or in their ability to produce consistently smooth, easy and skip-free writing.
The following three pens are the ones I recommend without hesitation. You can just about get them anywhere in the US for a few dollars. Continue reading ‘Best Inexpensive Pens’
We at Crittix have a Certified Mechanical Engineer on our staff. This is what he has to say about the Smart Car:
“OK - so moving objects have lots of Kinetic Energy, and when they collide and change velocity (or stop), all that energy has to either be absorbed somewhere or converted to other forms of energy such as light, heat, or bits flying off. I don’t care how strong they say the Tridion Cell is…all that energy has got to go somewhere.
Continue reading ‘Smart Car?’
OK folks, here is the first post on Crittix.com! We’re going to have a blast together over the coming months and years.
The purpose of Crittix.com is to provide advice on what we think are the best products and services in many categories that we just KNOW you’ll love. They may not be the most expensive or the most sexy, but they will DEFINITELY be the best VALUE and the best in terms of fitness for purpose, design and usefulness.
We hope you’ll join in the discussion by sending us some comments. We will certainly try to engage with you in the comment sections of the posts as time permits! 
As we go along, we’ll try to keep you entertained with photos, videos and the odd off-topic post that is pertinent to us all as consumers and customers.
So….WELCOME! Let’s have some fun together!
