So, what is a Drobo? Short for Data Robot, the Drobo FS is pretty much the closest thing you will ever get to cheap, infinite, redundant storage.

I know what you are thinking, $844 without a single hard drive doesn’t sound cheap, but this little infinite storage box will pay itself off many times over during its lifetime.

Basically, Drobo will turn all of those different sized hard drives you have lying around into one drive attached to your network, constantly backing itself up. You can add 5 drives of any size, eg 200GB, 400GB a 1TB and a 3TB drive and end up with one drive about 2.3TB but totally backed up if any drive were to crash and burn.

In fact, if you want to expand that to be even larger – wait until those hard drive prices come down, and while Drobo is running, you can just pull out your smallest drive and replace it with your shiny new 3TB. It truly seems like magic. We tested this while actually streaming a video from Drobo – my data has never felt safer.

Setup is an absolute breeze, with what is a truly plug and play experience. The management tools also excel allowing Drobo to email you when things go wrong, or scheduled tasks take place.

Right now, I have 5TB of redundant storage connected, running Subsonic music streamer to my iPhone 4 right of my Drobo Network Attached Storage (NAS) – The man-cave has never felt more complete. With my new found music freedom I have adopted the mantra – “I am the cloud”, Thanks Drobo!

This smartphone does 3 things brilliantly. It uses apps really well, lets you socialise with friends easily and makes productivity multi-tasking a breeze. And it does it all with just 3 screens.

The Nokia N9 is set to arrive in stores very soon. It’s the best of the best in this year’s batch of smartphones, and designed to put Nokia back in No1 position. 

The N9 runs on a 1GHz Cortex-A8 OMAP 3630 processor with 1GB RAM and a Power SGX530 graphics processor, and it comes in two storage capacities: a 16GB model and an enormous 64GB option. It also has an 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash and Carl Zeiss optics, so it’s going to take great pics. As importantly, the N9 is also stylish, socially-minded and makes multi-tasking easy.

N9 appeals to lovers of great design Each of the new N9’s three colours – black, blue and pink– is baked right through into the unibody polycarbonate shell, so it won’t chip with scratches or scuffs.  The large 3.9 inch screen is bonded to the glass; as a result, images are really vivid and your apps almost seem to float on the surface.

N9 is for social smartphone users Facebook and Twitter apps are in-built and let you keep your email, calendar and social network feeds in sync. One of the three screens is dedicated to social media (missed calls, messages and social updates); the other two show all your apps, and then show which ones are open. Switching between apps is also made faster and easier. There’s no need to close an app, jump back to the home screen and then select another app. You just swipe the screen and you’ll see a thumbnail view of all apps that are already running - just tap your app to dive back into it.

N9 is for people who love to multi-task Swipe your finger across the screen to reveal all your appointments and to-do tasks, notifications such as missed calls and even the latest Facebook and Twitter updates from your friends. These all appear on a single screen, instead of requiring you to work your way through a handful of different apps.

Read our smartphone buying guide.

Find more smartphones on Lasoo.

Congratulations to

S.Blumfield, VIC 3806

who commented on Diamond Solitaire Studs

“My Man would love these as they have style, pleasing to the eye, anyone loves diamonds and what man doesn’t want bling!”

We now enter our last *sniff* week of Celebration of MAN!

So head to our Facebook page to see the secret category for the week get your entries in by commenting on a product from that category!

www.facebook.com/Lasoo.com.au

Just browsing the Lasoo catalogues, and came across Sleepy’s latest - with the intriguing call to `sleep yourself slim’. Is it possible ..?

A couple of recent US studies have come to the same conclusion: if you don’t get enough sleep, your body doesn’t burn fat as well as if you sleep a solid eight hours a night.

It’s all to do with a (sinisterly-named) hormone called ghrelin that stimulates your appetite - and tricks us into thinking we are starving (even when we’re not). If you get enough sleep, you produce the right amount of ghrelin; if you only get five hours a night, then you stand the chance of having up to 20% more gherlin in your system. And you feel extra hungry …

So, what if you can’t fall asleep or stay asleep? Experts say that (as usual) exercise works wonders. Not only does it reduce stress (that stops you sleeping through worry), mild exercise late afternoon/early evening increases your temperature - meaning it will then fall gradually, and this fall is one of the best triggers for sleep.

Getting the odd bad night’s sleep will not make you fat, but if you’re constantly waking and feeling unrefreshed, then controlling your weight might just be a lot harder.

Read Lasoo’s Mattress Buying Guide.

Read Lasoo’s Bed Buying Guide.

Find more beds on Lasoo.

In this week’s free competition, we’re giving away 2 Cadbury Kitchen Hampers chock-full of the latest Cadbury Baking range.

Cadbury has launched a new baking website, Cadbury Kitchen, for all your chocolate baking needs. To celebrate its launch, Cadbury is giving you a chance to bake with its newly repackaged real chocolate baking range.   

This hamper contains a selection of the whole Cadbury Baking range including melts, chips and blocks in milk and dark chocolate blocks, Bournville Cocoa and an exclusive vintage Cadbury tea towel with a total value of over $50.

All you have to do to enter this week’s competition is tell us in 25 words or less, which Cadbury Kitchen recipe is your favourite and why ( in the Leave a comment box below).

Competition ends Monday 10th October.

Terms and Conditions.

If you’re addicted to your smartphone, here are 5 top apps that might just wean you off Facebooking every lunchtime.

Wonder-izer Sandwich Builder Create your next lunch sandwich. From nutritious to nutty, browse a variety of pre-made sandwiches or, start from scratch and pile your bread with different ingredients. Nutrition info updates in real time, with a shopping list of what you need to buy. Free app.

Izen Garden 2  Stuck in an office tower?  The peace and tranquility of a beautiful Zen Garden is in your pocket. Choose from 100s of objects, plants and creatures to place in your garden, then rake the sand and start again. $3.99.

FitnessBuilder Transforms lunchtime fitness, with huge library of exercise images/videos. Has workouts across all kinds of fitness, access to a live personal trainer and a complete set of workout tools, fitness calculators, tracking, scheduling etc. $9.99.

Hector: Badge of Carnage EP1  Lunchtime becomes adventure-time when a hostage crisis erupts and Detective Inspector Hector is the man to the rescue! An adventure app only for bad adults - you can hit a tramp with a crowbar, steal a young man’s trousers, kick a drug addict into a cardboard box, enter a pornshop, carry a designer handbag… all in the name of justice. $3.99.

MyCareer Jobs Unhappy at work? Put your next move in the palm of your hand, find jobs wherever you might be. Search and review thousands of jobs on MyCareer.com.au, save your CV to MyCareer.com.au and apply for jobs straight from your iPhone. Free.

White is the new black - especially when it comes to phones and cameras. Just 200 white Ricoh GR Digital IVs are coming to Australia (only 10,000 are being produced world-wide!).

Designed for those who want to be different, this serious photographer’s pocket camera is coming out in a limited edition white, soon. What it is with white cameras, we don’t know, but they are sought after, so it seems…

What else is new in the Ricoh GR Digital IV (other than a white body)? The high-res 3-inch LCD has been upped to an amazing 1.23 million dots, the sensor’s equipped with a new stabiliser to reduce blur, and, contrary to most things that get faster, the GR Digital IV’s waist has got fatter by 7mm to 32.5mm wide.

It’s also - how much faster? Twice as fast as the previous GR Digital III. The key to the fast focus speed is the hybrid AF; Ricoh claims that it’s as snappy as 0.2 seconds. It combines the info from Ricoh’s new external autofocus sensor with the internal one. They’ve also added a continuous AF mode that shoots 1.54 fps.

With a maximum aperture of f/1.9 and 28mm lens, the GR Digital IV also comes with a range of filters for different effects to images, including a multiple exposure mode, positive film, bleach bypass, cross process, high-contrast black and white and an interval composite mode.

Limited edition White Ricoh GR Digital IV RRP is $899, black body RRP is $799 - not a cheap camera, but one of the best around.

Find more digital compact cameras on Lasoo.

Victoria Beckham is known for wearing huge sunnies - she’s almost never pictured without them!  Posh is making a fashion statement - but also a vote for commonsense as protecting your eyes is a good idea this summer.

Don’t let shopping for this year’s new pair of sunnies be a bad experience. Get prepared before you go on the hunt … the first thing to do is take a shot of yourself!

Use your smartphone to take a pic Study the outline of your face. Round, oval, square or heart-shaped? General rules apply - you’ll look better in sunnies that are the opposite of your face shape e.g. a round face looks better in more angular glasses, square faces look better in softer frames. If you have an oval face, then lucky you - almost any shape will suit.

Always buy UV protection sunnies Your eyes can be damaged by long-term exposure to UVR (so can small children - you see more wearing their sunnies now!). It’s generally accepted by eye experts that severe sunlight exposure will contribute to cataracts in later life. So …

Designer frames will cost you much more Manufacturers license brands like Prada, Versace or Dolce & Gabbana, and these licensing fees mean you pay much higher prices for the sunnies. Paying this premium is no guarantee of superior quality. Luxottica (Italian manufacturer, largest in the world) makes many designer frames and applies the same quality tests to its no-name products, which means you can get a great-looking pair at  less cost. Check out online prices - they are more often than not, cheaper.

Some frames last longer than others Plastic frames are less durable than metal and will fade. However, metal frames can cause allergic reactions and are heavier than plastic. Stainless steel (widely used) is hypoallergenic and comparatively cheap. Most expensive is titanium - lightweight, durable and hypoallergenic. 

Find sunglasses on Lasoo.

Who doesn’t know a woman who’s either had breast cancer - or is battling it, now. Someone’s mum, someone’s sister …

So, the great kitchen product maker - Cuisinart - has become a Gold Sponsor with the National Breast Cancer Foundation. For every one of their products purchased in October, they’re giving $5 to the NBCF.

Happily, summer’s about to happen and Cuisinart have just released their great new colourful ice cream makers - bright and bold in the hottest hues under the sun! Time to grab one (& save lots of $ making your own ices), plus you know you’re helping someone in their battle against breast cancer.

Baby carriers are very popular - but a recent newborn death of a baby boy in a sling has put the spotlight on choosing the right one, and using it properly.

When it comes to safety, first things first. A baby carrier/sling is not something to purchase before your baby’s birth. Not is it something to give as a present before the baby is born - however well-meaning. The reasons being, carriers are very individual as to what feels both comfortable and safe for a parent to use - and you need your new baby with you so that you can check for proper fit (for both you and the baby).

The most important safety issue when choosing and using a baby carrier for a newborn, is be sure that you can constantly see the baby (never wear it under clothes), ensure their head faces outwards and that there’s no fabric covering the baby’s face. The chin must not rest on the chest, nor should the nose and mouth be obscured in any way. Always check to see if the manufacturer has issued any specific instructions for use - and bear in mind that, as yet, there are no safety standards for baby sling manufacture in this country - and there are safety concerns around their use. Some experts go so far as to recommend that newborns under 4 months don’t go in carriers, but only lie-down prams.

Above all, do not buy a sling or pouch that claims to keep baby in a `foetal-like’ position - it’s normal for the baby to lie like this in the womb, but not OK when he needs to breathe independently in a pouch! A pouch should hold the baby as a parent normally would.

Basically, there are 3 main types of baby carrier:

Before you buy a carrier, make these decisions:

Who will be the primary user of the carrier? Buy it to fit them. Most carriers are adjustable to be used by others - however the primary wearer must be the most comfortable user.

Will you be using the carrier primarily on your own? If so, it’s crucial to be able to undo the carrier straps easily - preferably one-handed while you support the baby. Clips are better than straps with ties.

How old is the baby/child in the carrier? Each baby carrier has weight/age requirements. The carrier must be able to support your child’s weight properly. Some will support up to 12Kg, others up to 18Kg.

What activities do you want to do? Breastfeeding is usually done best in a fabric sling rather than a pouch. Lots of walking will be more comfortable with a pouch. Check for a broad hip or waist strap to take some of the weight off shoulders and limit sideways movement of the carrier.

Find baby carriers on Lasoo.