TOOLBOX
Energizer Energi
To Go XP8000
$100
energizerpowerpacks.comIf your electronic gadget doesn’t readily permit
you to change batteries, or you simply don’t want
to bother with the hassle of a spare, check out this
great alternative. It’s an 8,000mAh rechargeable
LiPo battery pack about the size of a deck of cards
that weighs about as much as your smartphone.
One of the killer features of the XP8000 is that
it accommodates all sorts of devices thanks to its
three output ports: 5V USB, 9V–12V, and 16V–20V.
There are more than a dozen plugs and charging
cables, including adapters for portable DVD players
and DC plugs for laptops.
Extech RC200
Tweezer Multimeter
$70 extech.com
The RC200 does everything you’d expect from a multimeter:
measures voltage, resistance, capacitance, and continuity,
checks diodes, and switches between manual and auto
ranging using a stripped-down interface, basically just an LCD
with a couple of buttons letting you toggle through the modes.
The RC200 measures voltages up to 600V, 6nF to 60mF
capacitance, and resistance ranging from 600Ω to 60MΩ.
156 Make: Volume
23
Ubuntu Karmic Koala
(v. 9. 10)
Free
ubuntu.com
My switch to Ubuntu came from
a desire to break away from proprietary software. I started with Jaunty
Jackalope (version 9.04) and was a bit
afraid to make the jump to the new
OS, Karmic Koala (version 9. 10), due
to some hardware issues. Fortunately,
my fears were needless. But while on
the technical side everything is quite
fast, Ubuntu still suffers from a plain,
default GUI. Ubuntu’s primary goal over
the next few releases is to create their
own version of an App Store, which
should be completed by 10.04.
In Koala, Ubuntu users see the first
step toward a fully functional app
store: Ubuntu One is a free, 2GB online
cloud storage service that allows
Ubuntu users to sync and share files
with other online users. The current,
upgraded repository is nice to look
at, clean when searching, and easy to
install. With Lucid Lynx (version 10.04)
just released in April, Koala is a great
OS to utilize until Lynx establishes its
base in the community.
—Eric Ponvelle
