Acoustibuds: Easy on the Ears

LAS VEGAS -- If you have a problem with those ill-fitting, hard-shelled ear buds that came with your iPod, there may be a solution on the scene. Enter the Acoustibuds. They fit snugly onto the standard ear bud and won't easily fall off like most hard-shelled ones.

Next up, if you are on a PC, one of the maintenance tasks you should be doing is defragmenting your hard drive. A program that will help you do this task without having to worry about it is Diskeeper. Check it out below.

Now, more on the ear buds.

Acoustibuds $12.99 Click here for more info.

I found these at the CES Show in Las Vegas, they are called Acoustibuds. These are silicone caps with serrated tips that fit onto the existing hard iPod ear buds.

The nice thing is that they fit snugly onto the earbud so they won't easily fall off like most hard-shells. Most users relay stories of how whenever they would bend over the hard-shelled earbuds would fall out.

These won't change the sound quality of the earbuds but they will make them much more comfortable.

What I liked about these is that they also fit onto a number of other player's earbuds like; Zune, Sansa, Sony (SNE), Creative and others.

Diskeeper 2009 Professional $59.95 Click here for more info.

Back in the day, you used to have to shut down whatever you were doing in order to defrag the hard drive; Diskeeper allows you to keep working while it is working in the background.

Defragmentation is the process of locating the "noncontiguous fragments" as the file is stored on a hard disk, and then rearranging the fragments and restoring them into the whole file.

When your PC is searching for data, it won't be bogged down looking all over the hard drive for files, if they have been consolidated. So, to keep your system running smoothly, it's a good idea to make sure this sort of utility is being done on a regular basis.

Consider it sort of like an oil change -- something that when completed will make your life easier.

Site to see: Windows Vista Help

This well-organized site might be your first stop if you are have questions or problems with Windows Vista. The 10 categories cover just about anything you might be searching for regarding the operating system.

From gaming to wireless networking, the site features a community environment, including an "Ask a Question" section complete with the faces of actual people willing to help answer your questions.

Diana Forbes is a Los Angeles-based writer and media personality. Her "Gadget Grrl" reviews appear in various national print and online publications, and she demonstrates consumer products on national and local television shows. Click here to visit her Gadgetgrrl Web site.