Updates, upgrades

The good thing about a gadgets column is that you can periodically check on the items you’ve written about and report any issues that have come up.

One of the first columns was on the search for a small, efficient, inexpensive coffee maker. There are plenty of coffee machines at Anson’s and SM Appliance Center that fit this description. I settled on a small white Imarflex coffee maker which dispenses its brew directly into two ceramic cups; at P550 it cost the same as two trips to Starbucks.

The first few times I used it I noticed that the coffee tasted sour.

I’d been using the same Cavite-grown Barako in my previous coffee maker, so it wasn’t the beans. I consulted my friend the pastry chef, who knows his way around the kitchen, and he advised me to let hot water run through the coffee maker a couple of times. Put water in the machine, no beans, and turn it on. I followed the instructions, and the coffee tasted fine after that. The manufacturer should probably put this in the instruction manual. Come to think of it, I don’t recall an instruction manual — the machine’s function and operation are self-evident.

Another issue: if there’s any water left in the coffee maker’s “tank,” it will keep on dripping even after it’s been turned off. I’ve tried leaving the brewed coffee an extra minute or so — and patience is not a virtue associated with coffee drinkers in the morning — but a small pool of coffee always forms on the pad. Solution: paper towels, or the more eco-friendly reusable rag.

Next up: the earbuds. After the demise of my three-year-old original iPod earbuds which had withstood every torment known to earbuds, I bought the Philips “Mix and Match” in-ear headphones with changeable colored caps. They were all right, and then suddenly they weren’t. One ear went dead and would crackle to life only if I shook the cord. You know what I mean?

The earbuds had been in use for just three months and two weeks, and I had been kind to them, not snagging them on anything or getting them squashed at the bottom of my bag. I tried my quick fix from high school — wrapping the cord in scotch tape — but it didn’t work. Goodbye, Philips Mix-and-Match, I didn’t even get around to changing the colored caps.

If you use earbuds or headphones and one side stops working, have it repaired or get a new pair. You could damage your hearing if you keep using the defective earbuds. Once your hearing goes, it’s gone forever.

I’m now using white Sony MDR-E10LP earbuds, a hand-me-down from an audiophile friend (new foam).

Finally, the bag hanger. I mentioned those portable bag hangers, cute metal hooks that you attach to the edge of the table. It’s a good idea, except that the bag hanger I tried couldn’t take the weight of my bag.

I received an e-mail from Mars Austria, who’s created a bag hanger called “hooka-bag.” “It’s made of a metal ‘s’ hook which can withstand quite a heavy load,” Mars writes. “To make it attractive, I crocheted it and adorned it with various trinkets from tiny flower pins, metal studs and beads. I comes in a variety of colors to match the color of your purse or tote.”

Little flowers and beads. Too cute for me, but it would work for a lot of girls. The email continues: “It can be hooked on the edge of a table with a heavy bag or even a laptop bag; the heavier the bag the more secure the bag hangs. Also it can be hung on the arm or back of a chair, but only do this if you’re in a safe environment. The way to use the hooka-bag is to hook your bag first before adjusting it on a secure spot on a table or a chair.” The hooka-bags are sold at the Mary Grace cafes in Serendra and TriNoma.

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To have technology products reviewed, e-mail emotionalweatherreport@gmail.com. We’re particularly interested in Filipino inventions.