Marianne Schultz

the musings of a geeky girl

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Review: Acme Made Skinny Sleeve for Apple’s MacBook Air

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Image courtesy of Acme Made

I’ve always loved the look and feel of Apple’s aluminum laptops and while they’re pretty sturdy, they’re not immune to scratches and dents, even when they’re carried inside another bag. Though I have several laptop bags with dedicated compartments, my 11-inch MacBook Air is small enough that it can fit into other bags I have that lack a dedicated space for a laptop. For these bags, I wanted a slim yet protective sleeve for my MacBook Air and chose the Acme Made Skinny Sleeve.

There are ton of sleeves out there for the MacBook Air but the Acme Made Skinny Sleeve caught my eye for a few reasons. First, it has some additional reinforcement built into walls of the sleeve to provide even more protection against dents. Second, it’s a very slim, low-profile sleeve that adds little bulk to the already-thin MacBook Air. Third, though I’m not the kind of girl who’s drawn to pretty colors, I really liked the dark eggplant color available as a nice alternative from the black cases and bags I usually buy.

So far, the Acme Made Skinny Sleeve is definitely living up to my expectations and is keeping my MacBook Air protected, all while looking sleek and professional in the process and I have only a few tiny gripes about it. Read on or watch my video review after the break to find out more.

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Walking while working: my treadmill desk set-up

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I first heard of treadmill desks a few years ago through a feature segment on a news program and was immediately intrigued by the idea. I was, and have always been, concerned about my health (and waistline) as I get older and worried about the sedentary nature of my job – spending a lot of time sitting at a computer (gym membership and volleyball leagues notwithstanding) does nothing to help me keep my girlish figure. This, combined with the fact that I love french fries, made me determined to get a treadmill desk at some point in the future.

Fast-forward several years to the present when I now have a job where a treadmill desk would be ideal since I work from home and though I love my Aeron chair, I finally had the time and resources to put together my ideal treadmill desk set-up. Read on for the details about the design process and my now-complete set-up.

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Deal alert: 50% off Incase headphones

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I subscribe to local deal alerts from LivingSocial and Groupon, two of the largest and most well-known deal-of-the-day services in the U.S. This morning, a deal from LivingSocial caught my eye and I thought it may be of interest to you as well if you come to my site for gadget-related information. Today, LivingSocial is offering up to 54% off Incase headphones, bringing the price of the company’s most expensive model, the Sonic headphones, down to just $72 (with free shipping) from $149.95.

Incase entered the headphone market last year, a surprising move to me given their focus on bags and other small accessories to date. However, their headphones are decent according to the reviews I’ve read (you can read one at iLounge here and one at Cut of Mac here) and all of them include an inline microphone and remote control (with volume buttons) that work with the iPhone and portable Macs.

Here’s what the LivingSocial deal offers:

  • $32 for the Pivot headphones (regularly priced at $59.95)
  • $42 for the Reflex headphones (regularly priced at $79.95)
  • $72 for the Sonic headphones (regularly priced at $149.95)
Free shipping is included (Incase normally charges between $5 and $12 to ship items within the U.S.).
Incase Sonic Headphones in black

Incase Sonic headphones, image courtesy of Incase

This deal will be available for 4 more days, making its end date March 19 (I’m not sure of the exact time). You can see the deal and purchase it here. Though I’m not exactly in the market for a new pair of headphones, I couldn’t pass this up and purchased the Sonic model.

In case you’re not familiar with how LivingSocial and Groupon work, you make your purchase and then you’ll receive a voucher via email, which is usually also accessible through the respective iOS apps each company offers, with additional details on how to redeem your purchase. When I’ve purchased physical products through these companies before, the voucher usually contains a coupon code that can be used to order directly from the offering company’s website.

I hope this is useful to you! Please be sure to read the fine print and terms and conditions and know that I’m not affiliated with Living Social or responsible should anything go awry or not meet your expectations.

Review: Case-Mate Pop! With Stand for the iPhone 4/4S

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Through Google Offers, I recently had a chance to get a Case-Mate product at a discount and chose the
iPhone 4/4S Pop! Case with Stand. There are a few different cases in the new Pop! line and this one has a pop-out stand on the back to hold the iPhone upright in landscape or portrait orientation. This case retails for $40 and comes in a variety of colors. I chose the all-black color option and after using it for a couple of weeks, I’ve found it to have some great features combined with a handful of negative aspects that put it just out of the running as my go-to case for my iPhone 4S. Read on to find out why.


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Review: Just Mobile AluCube + AluPen

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If you couldn’t already tell, I have a bit of a thing for styli. One of the first styli I acquired last year was the Just Mobile AluPen, a chunky stylus reminiscent of the fat Crayola crayons I used as a child. To go along with this stylus, Just Mobile has created a desk stand called the AluCube to store the AluPen in ready position while matching your other Apple products at the same time.

Just Mobile has been lauded for its product designs before and the AluCube + AluPen combination appears to be no exception when it comes to sleek minimalism. Read on my for my review to see if this package is a worthy addition to your desk. [Read more…]