Hasta La Gadget!

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Colin, who needs his jams on the cheap. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I have been looking for a decent set of speakers that can kick out fairly good sound. Ideally, I’d use these in a bedroom, mostly for television viewing and Xbox gaming. I don’t need anything too powerful as I’m not filling a gigantic room with sound. I’ve heard good things about Logitech boxed kits, but have also heard that soundbars are great space-saving alternatives. I’m open to pretty much anything: HTIB, soundbars, etc, but am hoping to spend around $100 or less. Thank you!”

We know, you’re looking to pinch pennies in order to take that special someone out on a fantastically fine date tomorrow. We get it. But these days, $100 can actually buy you quite a bit of sound. We’d echo those positive sentiments on Logitech’s boxed kits, but if anyone has any other input, comments are open down below.

Ask Engadget: best sound system / soundbar for around $100? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Cris, who can’t seem to find a latex-free mouse that he needs to prevent allergic reactions. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I work in an office environment for ten hours a day in front of a computer where my right hand spends most of it’s time on my wireless Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 2.0. It’s a mouse I’ve loved, but there’s an issue. I have discovered that I’m allergic to the rubber latex used in the mouse. Although I have not had a tough time finding posts online from people complaining of the same problem, I have had a very difficult time finding a solution. I need a latex-free mouse, preferably with similar features to the Intellimouse I love so much. It’s easy to find many things in a latex-free variety; obviously mice aren’t in that group. Thanks!”

So, any suggestions for Cris? Quite a few folks are allergic to latex rubber, and it’s borderline impossible to believe that no latex-free mouse lives in a world chock full of options. If you’ve managed to uncover a gem that fits the bill (or a particular keyboard, while we’re on the subject), drop a hint in comments below.

Ask Engadget: best latex-free mouse and keyboard solution? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Ozair, who is no longer down with forking out monthly for a subpar DVR experience. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“With the unveiling of (pricey) Google TV, what are the other, cheaper alternatives to setting up HDTV via a cable box rather than renting out Optimum / Cablevision’s outdated and laggy set-top box? TiVo? Any other standalone DVRs? Something I’m not considering?”

For those of you who’ve purchased a standalone DVR + CableCARD setup (or possibly even an HTPC + CableCARD setup), how are you enjoying it? Let this fellow know your optimal arrangement down in comments below — make it quick, it’s not like he can afford to miss this year’s burning of the Yule Log in HD.

Ask Engadget: best alternative to a cable company-issued set-top box? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Stephen, who frankly isn’t interested in suffering from health issues due to insanely hot laptops baking his body. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“Real simple: what is the best laptop that doesn’t burn you? That is to say, which is the most powerful mainstream laptop (14- or 15-inch) that runs cool when it’s actually doing something. I’m running a Dell Studio 1537 and both palmrests are warm even though all I am doing is typing this email and streaming Slacker with the LCD brightness on it’s lowest setting. Therefore the WiFi card is cooking and so apparently is the hard drive (even though the processor is only at 12 percent). Help!”

Man, we can’t wait to see the answers to this. No, seriously — we’re pretty sure everyone in the world wants in on this secret. Every 14- / 15-inch laptop that we’ve ever used here (Mac and PC, both) has eventually become uncomfortably warm after extended use, and we’ve personally resorted to keeping a stockpile of pillows around just to guard ourselves. Drop the world a better solution down below if you have one. And by “one,” we mean “a laptop model.”

Ask Engadget: best laptop that won’t burn your lap? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 23:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Alex, who just can’t take the noise, dude. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“Hello Engadget. I’ve always been a fan of high quality audio but I have a problem. I need noise cancelling headphones, but active noise cancelling gives me a headache and my ear canals aren’t round enough to use in-ear earphones. I’ve also looked into custom earphones but I can’t afford paying $400 or more for a set. What are your recommendations for the best pair of passive noise cancelling headphones? My ears thank you.”

We will say that Klipsch’s oval ear tips tend to fit in funky ear canals that typically reject round ones, but if you’re still hellbent on a pair of cans, we’re hoping our audience below can toss out some advice. If they can hear us from underneath their noise cancelling headphones, of course.

Ask Engadget: best passive noise cancelling headphones? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 23:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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