Tech Me Up

As we wait for the kitchen cabinets to arrive (2.5 more weeks, people), we are focused on the last minute touches. Granite countertop, backsplash tile, and electronics are still left on our shopping list. Now, I must admit that I know very little about technology these days. I have a cellphone, an iPod, a laptop and occassionally rock out to a game of Guitar Hero but that's about it. All tech questions I send out to the Help Desk i.e. my baby brother. (Is it wrong to call him 'baby' when he's 27? I digress...)

Anyhoo, the prospect of selecting a new TV and iPod docking station for the kitchen is a little bit daunting. All I know is the TV needs to be small enough to sit on the wall and the dock needs to portable. After a bit of research, here's what I've found:


Sony’s KDL19M4000S 19” BRAVIA:
At 19", this one is the perfect size to fit on the workstation wall under the upper cabinet. Baby Bro says get a TV with HDMI (whatever that is) and this one has it. Its also got a sleek design and looks pretty in white and silver to go with my white and silver kitchen. There's a PC port too, so I guess if I bring the laptop into the kitchen to look up a recipe, I can flash it up on the 'big' screen and swivel it around so its visible from all parts of the kitchen. Kewl.



Sanus SF208 Wall Mount:
This little doodad will do the job just right. It can tilt up and down and the 5” arm will allow the TV to be seen from all parts of the room. ‘Coz you know, we have such a huuuuuge kitchen ;)

Now the iPod station is a bit more troublesome. HandyMan and I are not big audiophiles – we play CD’s off our DVD player and use the TV speakers as our sound system, if that tells you anything. So we’re looking for portable speakers. I want to be able to carry the dock into the kitchen when I’m cooking, out to the dining room when we’re having dinner, and bring it out to the deck when we’re enjoying long, languorous summer nights. Here’s a few things that seem to fit the bill:

Bose SoundDock Portable:
It's a Bose so I'm thinking its pretty good quality. Again, its pretty to look at and will fit in the open shelf at the workstation. It doesn't play CD's though I figure if I really want to listen to those cool free CD's we scored from the hotel on our honeymoon, we can kick it old-school and hook up the Discman, lol.

Griffin Evolve:
These speakers are portable and wireless. No nasty cables to see hanging out. This one is a party pleaser... you could have a speaker in the living room and one out on the deck so the guests milling about your house could enjoy the Coldplay tunes whereever they are. Sweet!



Okay, so it sounds like I know what I'm talking about, but I really have no clue. Any of you have experience with these gadgets? Any others you'd recommend?