This review is based on a review copy of the Belkin Wireless Dual-Band Travel Router.

Before we get to the Belkin Wireless Dual-Band Travel Router, let’s talk about why would you want a travel router? When travelling with friends, you will often run into situations where there is only one Ethernet outlet in your hotel room. You will need a router to be able to have more than one person use the Internet at once. Also, if you are into playing games with your friends or any other type of intra-network (LAN) activity, you will need a router. Even if you just invite friends to your dorm room, you can quickly bust out your Belkin Wireless Travel Router to allow everyone to use the Internet at once.

The Belkin Wireless Dual-Band Travel Router is basically a tiny wireless router, perfect for travelling due to its size. It is the smallest router we have ever seen.

The included Ethernet cord and power cable are all you need to bring along with the router when you travel. A travel case comes with the unit which is nice if you want to keep everything organized in a nice little package (also it can help you not lose anything). In my opinion, you can leave the case to save some space in your suitcase.

There are no passwords to remember or configuration to set-up. The password and network SSID are written on the back of the unit.

The dual-band capabilities means that the router can work at speeds up to 150Mbps (with wireless n) on all modern wireless standards (n, g, a, or b). If your computer has a wireless card or wireless capabilities, this router will work with it.

Final Thoughts

We were really surprised at how small this router is. Even the power cord and Ethernet cable are made to take up as little space as possible. The router is clearly created for travelling purposes and for “taking your wireless network with you when you travel”. It is perfect for that purpose or for college students who need to pack up all their belongings at the end of every school year.

The MSRP of $80 is on the higher side but coming from Belkin, one of the top network equipment companies, a higher price is expected. You can also easily pick up the product for about $65 on Amazon.com.

Our final opinion: If you can find it for a good price, it is highly recommended as your only router for home, dorm, or hotel room.

Finding Joe is a documentary about Joseph Campbell, the mythologist known throughout Hollywood for his theories concerning heroes. Through a series of interviews and interpretive scenes, Finding Joe takes you through the Hero’s Journey which can be applied to every day life.

In the Hero’s Journey you are the hero and you encounter challenges, fears, dragons (fears), battles, and return home changed. I am sure many college students can relate.

There are many scenes with children reproducing, on screen, what the narrator is taking about. Though the scenes are very beautifully shot, they come off as just a little cheesy.

Lots of the movies mentioned in Finding Joe as references to The Hero’s Journey like Star Wars, The Matrix, etc., were created after Joseph Campbell’s works and may have been strongly influenced by his writings. But Finding Joe is more about finding the hero in yourself with less of a focus on Joseph Campbell’s other works.

Nonetheless, the documentary is a great introduction to Campbell’s work and you could consider watching it in place of doing your English homework (not that we would condone such things…).

PERT Plus Review (Contest Below)

I don’t like to waste my time doing useless things like washing my hair. So when someone comes up to me and says, “Hey Ace, try out this PERT Plus 2-in-1 Shampoo-Conditioner (and do a review on it),” I was all like “Heck yeah! I’d love to work while I shower and shampoo while I condition.” That’s like 4-in-1… or something…

Seriously now, I really do not like to waste time (and water) showering. Unfortunately, I have Justin Beiber hair to please my girlfriend so I need to condition it. I have tried those CVS-brand 2-in-1 conditioners before but, to be honest, they are pretty crappy. I was a little hesitant to try PERT for this reason.

So I don’t know anything about shampoo and conditioners so here is my very basic synopsis of my experience:

I look at the bottle. “Not tested on animals.” I approve. I open the bottle and poof a little air out so I can smell it. It has a good smell to it. Nothing fruity or weird. Just a normal shampoo smell like it should have. I pour some into my hand. Oww, it’s so green and milky…

Okay, actually, I’ll just stop there before this gets any weirder. PERT Plus met all my satisfactions and exceeded my expectations. It smells nice, cleans your hair, and keeps it moisturised. If you are one of those people who perm their hair or bleach-dye it, it will probably not be the product for you. But if you want something that actually does what it says, looks awesome (come on, it’s green!), and you just need to get up and ready in 5 minutes for that class you are running late to, then try this out.

Contest

[Editor's note: This contest is now closed. We would like to thank all the participants and PERT Plus for helping us make this a posibility. The winner is saggel.]

To enter for your chance to win a few months^* supply of PERT Plus (and a complimentary baseball and T-shirt), let us know how many times you wash your hair by posting in the comments below. The last day to enter is Sunday, October 23.

[*Winner will receive 2 bottles of PERT Plus, a baseball, and a T-shirt. Shipping will be free of charge. Anyone can enter.]

Gone are the days when a plucky young freshman would turn up at college with little more than a chewed pencil behind his ear and a simple, honest willingness to learn. These days if it can’t be plugged in, it’s passé, and study is aided and abetted by a whole host of cool new toys.

We’ve been scouring gadget-land for our top five college-friendly gizmos – and the best part is they’re all investments that you can make without putting too big a dent in your keg fund…  

Must-have

A laptop is an essential bit of kit for anyone studying this century. The market is crammed with options, so have a click about on a site like laptopadvisor.com before taking the plunge. If you’re looking for a no-frills model then the Acer Aspire (from around $630) could fit the bill.

Source

It boasts enough RAM to handle basic tasks plus media editing and gaming, and its eight hour battery should see you through a day of classes without breaking a sweat.

Shhhh!

Anyone with a roommate, housemate or indeed people living within three miles of where they want to study will appreciate the eyeball-peeling frustration that comes with noise pollution. Noise-cancelling headphones may sound like witchcraft, but they work by actively erasing lower-frequency sound waves. This über-cool technology can be yours for anything between $50 and $500. As with any gadget like this you get what you pay for, but the Sennheiser – PXC310 gets great write-ups and can adorn your head in exchange for around $300.

Source

Forget floppy

If you’re still walking around campus transporting documents and data on floppy discs, then you deserve all the rude nicknames you get. Flash drives now come in a range of sizes and designs. Fashionista types might appreciate the 4GB Swarovski crystal necklace numbers on SourceSquare.com.

Source

But for a no-fuss, high-quality version, go for a Duracell 16GB model. They feature a neat, rounded case that slides open not off and will cost you just over $20.

You snooze, you lose

Students are notoriously bad at getting up in the morning… or afternoon. Make sure that enticing snooze button doesn’t keep you from classes with a new breed of alarm clock. Tocky is a naughty little timepiece that will jump off your night-stand to help you allude the snooze and will set you back $69.

Source

There’s also The Flying Digital Alarm Clock coming in at just $12. When this alarm goes off, so does the helicopter attachment – along with the only key that can turn it off.

Finally, for extreme cases, there’s the Shocking Alarm Clock, which actually administers a small electric shock to the would-be snoozer for a mere $15.

Source

Take note

The Livescribe Smartpen is the type of pen the Terminator would wield if he were a little more academic and a little less aggressive. This ingenious pen allows you to record everything you hear and write, with no more than a tap on the special notepaper. From just $150 it can help to make sure you don’t miss a moment of those all important classes, no matter how many Margaritas you’ve enjoyed the night before…

Source

Melissa Campbell writes on behalf of Postgrad.com, a leading source of information on postgraduate programs in the UK.

Everybody that entered our Freshman 15 contest in any way is entitled to a free 6-month subscription to Mead Map. A 6-month subscription normally costs $12, which is not bad, but the folks at Mead Map were nice enough to give us a bunch of free subscriptions. What is better than free?

Mead Map is revolutionary mind-mapping software used to organize your class notes, projects, etc. You will be able to easily link ideas together and share your notes with classmates or partners. It is worth giving a try and you do not need to use a credit card or download anything (the whole thing works from their website). Just use the promotional code “cbeing” when signing up.

[Go here for a video about how Mead Map works.]

Many of you are interested in a review for the HP Pavilion dv7t laptop we are giving away here on College Being. Here is what we think:

Specs

Since this is what most of you are interested in, we will put it first so you do not have to read our even-headed ramblings below.

• LCD Screen: 17.0″ WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen
• Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate, 64 bit
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T9600, 2.80 GHz
• Hard Drives: 2 x 320GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drives
• Memory: 4.00 GB RAM (max 8 GB with upgrade)
• Video Card: 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
• DVD Drive: Blu-ray ROM and DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer (one drive with both features)
• USB Ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports
• Additional Ports: eSATA, HDMI, monitor (VGA), ethernet
• Other Features: wireless-n card (for wifi), memory card reader, web cam, number pad, HDTV TV tuner, fingerprint reader, remote control, 56K modem
• Included Software: Norton Internet Security 2008 (w/ subscription), Quicken Deluxe 2008, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.), muvee (movie maker and editor), LOTS of games from HP (Luxor, etc.), Cyberlink DVD Player, Microsoft Media Center, and lots more
• Weight: about 7.7 lbs

Look

In one word: shinny. There is a shinny coating on the back with a nice HP logo lit up with a blue LED. The monitor is wide enough to enjoy Blu-ray movies and all the games the laptop comes with. The keyboard and coating on all other parts of the laptop is incredibly sick-(in a good way)-looking. There is a shine to it that will make your laptop look brand new for years–as long as you clean off the frequent smudge marks created by your oily fingers. You will definitely be able to compete with the increasing population of Mac laptops in terms of style, but what about functionality?

Functionality

The included number pad makes it so easy to type numbers. Not having a number pad is one of my biggest issues with laptops so it is big plus. I’m not an accountant, but ever time I type a number it takes so much less time.

There is a button above the mouse pad to disable and re-enable it. This is very useful if you will be doing a long paper and do not want to accidentally hit the mouse and start typing in the wrong place. Another great little feature that adds so much.

The finger print reader is a nice addition and cool to show your friends, but in terms of functionality, I did not find much use for it. Unless you work the the CIA, a normal password would probably work for you.

The ports included (3 x USB 2.0, eSATA, HDMI, memory card reader, etc.) also make a huge difference to how productive you are. eSATA is a lot faster than USB and can be used with certain external hard drives or DVD drives. HDMI is an output for your display for a HD monitor.

There are also three audio jacks in front of the computer which gives you easy access to plug in some additional speakers, headphones, or mics.

Lastly, none of the computer’s ports are on it’s backside, something that frustrates me about most laptops. All the ports, DVD drive, etc. are on the sides (minus the audio jacks which are in front).

Multimedia

The multimedia features on this laptop are insane, but it is called a multimedia laptop. You can play Blu-ray disks. (A Blu-ray player by itself is already some $400 or $500.) Plus you can watch HDTV with the included TV tuner. Add Microsoft’s Media Center to the mix and you have a pretty powerful entertainment PC. If you have an HD LCD screen you can plug it into the HDMI port and have a real entertainment center. Plus, you also get a little remote control that can be used to control your computer from afar. Think about what you could do while still in class!

Conclusion

This laptop is worth winning. Enter here. The last day to enter is October 12.

Brand new, out-of-the-shrink-wrap auction website Bid4MyJunk.com offers a unique experience to the average Joe trying to sell his stuff online. I love their idea of simplify-ing the often complicated fee system (I’m not going to mention any names…). They offer free postings (What’s better than free?) and a simple $1 commission if your product sells. From what I could muster at eBay’s (oops, I guess I did mention a name :|) fee listings page, just to list an item it will probably cost you $1. Then, you still have to pay almost 10% of your earnings!!! What!? That’s just ridiculous! From now on I am only going to post my items on Bid4MyJunk and forget all the others. Anyone who wants some of my old textbooks will find them there. :)

Mechanics are always trying to rip people off. And since not everybody has a BS in car mechanics, RepairPal gives you honest quotes on your latest car repairs. Just crashed that old Toyota Carolla? Before you go for repairs, make sure to check out RepairPal to see if you are getting an honest quote. The site takes into account your make, model, and even area. Also featured is a rating system to rate local mechanics using your new knowledge and a discussion area for help on common problems.

[via Lifehacker]

I got a free sample of MAXXED energy pops last week and decided that I would write about them. I was so excited when they arrived because I was in the middle of my finals. I love drinking huge quantities of energy drinks and staying up all night to study. Yes, that is surely on the top of my list of fun things to do.

Anyhow, I was shocked when they arrived. The 12-pack came in what seemed to be a 12-pack of energy drinks. The cans were even the right size, but when I opened my first can, out comes a pop, a lollipop! Now, who ever heard of an energy lollipop? I thought “pop” just meant “soda pop” like how all those weird people call soda.

MAXXED is the first of its kind. It is an alternative energy source which combines all the benefits of traditional energy drinks but in an innovative lollipop form. Infused with a unique blend of Ginseng, Guarana, Taurine and B-vitamins, MAXXED is a convenient go anywhere product that helps you to maintain alertness and reduce fatigue.

So pretty much MAXXED is made with energy. Yeah, after reading the list of ingredients, I wondered how on earth that huge lollipop could stay together.

For the lollipop itself, it sure tastes good and lasts forever! Maybe I just really like candy, but that was yummy. My only complaint was that it hurt the roof of my mouth, because of the roughness of the candy. Also, after eating just a couple of those I stayed up for two days straight. In fact, over the past week I only slept about 16 hours. That just shows you how effective those things are. To conclude, buy them for taste, buy them for energy, but do not eat more than three in one go. Good luck with finals!

[MAXXED Official Website]