No matter where you live, it never seems like the latest and greatest technology actually ever hits your neck of the woods before the rest of the modern world has had a chance to get sick of it. Well chalk one up for this technology junkie because Portland, Oregon officially has WiMAX!

For those of you who aren’t familiar, WiMAX is in very simple terms an extremely fast Internet connection alternative to other wire-based services such as Cable, DSL and Verizon FioS Service and wireless services provided at hotspots like what Starbucks offers through AT&T. You can expect speeds of up 6 mbps at home and 4 mbps on mobile accounts. Home plans start at $20 a month with mobile plans starting at $30 a month. Very competitive in price and stated speed to other offerings.

WiMAX achieves these stellar speeds by connecting subscribers over a WiMAX modem. For those who think less is more, most mobile users for instance, WiMAX chips are already starting to show up in new laptops such as the Asus Eee PC. I would suspect that many manufacturers will be watching closely how widely accepted WiMAX is in the Portland area to gauge whether or not the new chips are worth considering for new hardware.

One very positive note is the WiMAX technology is much more robust than Wi-Fi and provides wireless signals that stretch for miles rather than the typical few dozen feet. This is accomplished through the use of federally licensed radio spectrum. This ups the ante on technological advances and quality of service, but it also ups the ante financially for Clearwire, the company behind WiMAX.

Not only is the federally licensed radio spectrum expensive, Clearwire must come into the Portland area and make a big splash rather quickly. It has to gain a significant subscriber base to bring in much needed capital to offset rollout costs. Accomplishing this in the midst of an economic downtime, not to mention stiff competition from other already entrenched providers could prove to be a daunting task.

The day Clearwire officially launched WiMAX in Portland, I was ready to sign up. One problem: Macs aren’t supported. Sweet mother! I decided to go to Plan B.

I’d already been considering a Nokia N810 Internet Tablet to play with. I figured I’d just buy the WiMAX enabled version. New problem: Everyone was out of them. However I found someone wanting to sell one on Craigslist. I’m Golden! New problem came up: Clearwire was saying it wasn’t compatible with Portland’s WiMAX service.

I started searching around and found that Nokia, that same day, had pulled the Nokia N810 WiMAX version from production. Not only that, they were asking retailers to return unsold units (I don’t think anyone had any to return) to Nokia. An interesting development.

After all that, I think I’m just going to sit on the sidelines of this latest and greatest event and see how things go. If some compelling device comes down the pipe or Clearwire decides to support Mac users before it goes belly up, maybe I’ll pony up and try the mobile service.

All in all, my big chance to actually be in on one of the latest, greatest and coolest things has met a very disappointing end……for now.

Why I feel like I need another device to surf the Internet, I have no idea. I spend all day sitting in front of a computer on the Internet, yet I am constantly looking for devices that really do nothing more than provide Internet access in another form factor. I DID find one particular place this device comes in handy for reading blogs and catching up on news articles More on Nokia N800 Internet Tablet – A “niche” device

Using your iPod as a portable hard drive is a great way to carry around your important files and documents without carrying (and having to keep track of) another device.

Here’s the simple steps to make it happen More on How To Use Your iPod As a Hard Drive

I’ll skip all of the usual stuff about how great the iPod is, how well it does music, etc. Here’s why I bought the new iPod Classic 160GB: consolidation.

I loved the idea of Palm’s LifeDrive. Carry all your important electronic “stuff” with you at all times. The biggest problem was the storage limit. The iPod Classic 160GB breaks that barrier, giving you plenty of storage capacity in the form of a device you’re probably already carrying. More on iPod Classic 160GB – My Life Drive

Regardless of what your hobby is, chances are there is some sort of geeky gadget that is made just for you. The Garmin Edge 305 proves that to be true for all the bike lovers out there. The 305 proves to be one of the most complete tools for the geek cyclist on the market today. In addition to being a full blown bike computer, the 305 is also a portable GPS device, and has optional Heart Monitor and Cadence attachments to completely deck out your bike tech arsenal. More on Garmin Edge 305 – Total Bike Geekery

Apple thrilled many a fan waiting with baited breath when they released the iPhone Tuesday at Macworld, and indeed, we’ll be in line to snag a couple ourselves when they come out in Jun. However, one major component was missing from this new device — iChat. Steve proclaimed the iPhone is 3 devices in one: widescreen ipod, mobile phone, and internet communicator, and although the new device has EDGE and WiFi connectivity, and includes email, web and sms…one key app they left out is the obvious iChat from Apples own internet suite.

For a second there it looked like iChat was included, as you can see in the picture above, but what you see is just sms text messaging that is formatted to look like iChat. Although it sounds like the iPhone will not support installing of additional applications, I’m hoping there’s an iChat update in the future, maybe even before the phone releases…either that, or a widget that can be installed that will support it.

In addition to the lack of iChat, my other big complaint is the decision to use Cingular — I would have preferred Verizon. Also new rumors that the iPhone without a contract will send the price through the roof make the Cingular choice even less desirable.

The Sony Vaio UX-280P Micro PC appears to be a dream come true. Carry your laptop around in your coat pocket. Use it while standing in line or at half time at the kids’ soccer games. Wireless Internet pretty much wherever you are with Cingular’s Edge network. Sony, where have you been all my life? I HAD to have one of these. More on A couple of days with the Sony Vaio UX-280P

I’ve ended my love-hate relationship with my Verizon Wireless RAZR phone and am in the honeymoon phase and loving my new LG VX 8600 phone. It’s slim, shiny, feels good in your hand and….well……it’s new. So far I can’t find anything I really don’t like about it. The screen is very good, possibly the best I’ve seen on any phone of it’s kind, with plenty of brightness to be viewed outside and nice rich colors. More on Sleek Verizon LG VX 8600

I’ve never really been a fan of the ear buds offered with any of the iPod products, usually opting for either a set of Grado SR80s or Bose QC-2s instead. I asked my buddy Ryan over at the Mac Store for some decent earphone replacement options for the standard buds that came with the Mini, and he suggested a new product by v-moda, the bass freq earphones. So far, I can say I am impressed with these comfy little earphones. More on v-moda Offers Funky, Punchy Ear Bud Options

As more and more manufacturers get their ExpressCard EV-DO options out on the market, a great solution for MacBook Pro users continues to be the first card released, the Dell 5700 EV-DO ExpressCard. More on Dell 5700 ExpressCard – Still A Great EV-DO Option for MacBook Pro