Keeping your computer and data safe is of utmost importance and even more so if you are a Mother. Since most Moms keep up with all the photos, schedules, homework, assignments, appointments, and much more on the family computer, having a reliable all-in-one security/anti-virus software is a necessity.

Recently on behalf of Mom Central & Symantec, I was sent the newest version of the Norton 360 all-in-one security software.

Upon first glance this looked like the perfect easy-to-use product for busy moms. After installing it was ease, I have to say that it definitely is! Norton 360 Version 2.0 gives you quick access to important tasks such as virus protection, identity protection, network monitoring, firewall protection, and even backs up important files and photos for you.

A Mom’s review recommends Symantec’s Norton 360 V2.0 to keep your computer, data, and private information safe. This software is the best choice for the average busy mom!

You can purchase Norton 360 V2.0 on the Symantec website for $79.99 This software can be installed on up to 3 computers and also has an add-on parental control pack that you can download for no additional charge.

This year we didn’t do a Mother’s Day Gift Guide like many of the review/shopping sites out there but we will be doing one next year as well as feature a few guides like back-to-school, Christmas, Halloween, and more coming this year. Yippee! So stay tuned!

For those of you that have yet to shop for your Mother or your wife, your in trouble…here are a few picks that we recommend.

1.) It’s too late to order online unless you are ordering flowers and there’s mostly junk or cliche gifts left in the stores so take your Mother or wife out to her favorite restaurant this Mother’s Day. This is something my family normally does every year!

2.) If dining out is not in your budget, cook a meal she loves at home and include the kids in the cooking! They will be delighted! Please do not burn the food.

3.) Moms take lots of photos so why not print out some of her favorite photos and put them in some cute frames for her desk or living room.

4.) If you’d like to buy a gift then you should hurry. We’d like to share with you a few of our favorite gadget picks out of some previous reviews.

The Epson PictureMate Dash Portable Printer! It’s small and super convenient for quick quality photo prints at home! This is probably one of the most useful gadgets I currently own.

Senseo Coffee Maker It makes the perfect single cup of coffee every time! I love mine! Yes, I know, everyone says to not buy household appliances for Mother’s Day but we need our coffee!

And you can’t go wrong with ipods, candles, cameras, & chocolate (not the cheap stuff!).

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mommies out there from AMomsReview.com!

These days most kids have an iPod, mp3 player, or other portable device with earphones. As parents, it is our responsibility to protect our kids ears and to teach them the importance of safety when using earphones.

Recently AirDrives offered to send us a sample pair of kids earphones to review. The kids AirDrives are different from regular earphones in that they are gently placed on the outside of the ear. These earphones are designed to bring music to your life rather than blocking everything out with loud music. The volume is also set to max at a lower volume so as not to allow for hearing damage. Overall, A Moms Review recommends AirDrives earphones for kids even though they are way overpriced.

Would you like to win a set of your very own AirDrives for kids? If so, all you need to do is answer the following contest question by visiting the AirDrives website then come back here and leave your answers in the comments section for us. Here is the question (Hint! answers can be found on main page of website easily here!)

What are the two features that adult Airdrives contain that AirDrives for kids do not?

Contest Rules: US resident, 18+, Void where prohibited by law. Deadline is April 30, 2008. 5 winners will be selected.

Leave your contest answer in the comments section. Those with the correct answer will be entered in a random drawing.

Where To Buy: AirDrives website and right now you can get FREE Shipping by filling out a survey

Has your laptop or desktop DVD or CD drive kicked the bucket? Does your laptop or desktop only have a CD burner and not a DVD burner? Have you neglected purchasing a DVD burner because of high prices and inflated installation fees? Would you like to have the capability to watch DVD movies in high resolution on your desktop or laptop? Would you like to easily backup your movies and data to high storage media such as DVD? (A dual layer DVD will hold over 8GB of data. That is roughly 16,000 2mb high resolution photos or 8,000 4mb mp’3s on just one disc) To put that in perspective, if you took 450 high resolution photos every day for a year, you could store all those precious memories on just one disk. WOW!

If you answered yes to any of those questions above then you may want to consider purchasing an InfoSafe External Slim USB 2.0 DVD +/- RW Dual Layer drive from Startech.com. This slim external DVD and CD burner features a high quality Panasonic drive. The drive is sleek, elegant, compact, fast, reliable, and very quite. It is also a snap to setup and use.
Recently I received an InfoSafe External Slim USB 2.0 DVD +/- RW Dual Layer drive from Startech.com to try out. It’s great to have around with me in my laptop bag when traveling because my laptop doesn’t have a built DVD-RW drive. Previously, I purchased a different model DVD-RW external drive that was heavy, large, and required an external power source. The bulky drive wouldn’t fit in my laptop bag and was very inconvenient to use. The InfoSafe External Slim drive has completely eliminated those inconveniences. Before owning this drive, I use to have to crawl under beds and desks in hotels rooms to find an available power source, only to find out my power cord would not reach from my bed. Not any more!

For installation, all I had to do was plug in the two USB cords to my pc and that was it. I didn’t have to fumble around with installing additional drivers. This device is truly plug and play. After the drive was detected I popped in the included Nero 7 Essentials. The Nero Essentials DVD and CD burning software is the perfect package for all your DVD backup and viewing needs.

This external drive doesn’t even need to be plugged into an external power source, albeit it does have an included power adaptor. The power adaptor isn’t necessary to use unless your computer doesn’t have two available USB ports. Most computers today have plenty additional USB ports available so most people will probably never have to use the power adaptor.

Did I mention it’s great for when traveling with the kids? My car does not have a power adaptor so in the past my kids couldn’t watch their favorite DVD movies on my laptop. Now, when we travel I just charge up the laptop and plug in the Infosafe External drive and the kids enjoy their favorite movies from the backseat of the car. How’s that for a peaceful driving experience?

Furthermore, I was so impressed with InfoSafe External drive that I plan on purchasing a second one as a gift for my parents. My parents are older and their desktop computer sits under their computer desk. I get tired of them having to get down in the floor just to insert a disk into their computer. Needless to say they will be very pleased with their new external DVD drive that sits nicely in reach of their fingertips, right next to their computer monitor.

In closing, no additional power cords, along with its small size and light weight make it a perfect accessory to carry along with a laptop during your travels or to use as the primary drive for your desktop pc. It is about the size of a DVD movie case, very attractive, very quiet, and easy to use.

Overview of features:
• No external power source required – This remarkable drive powers itself from
• Supports both USB 2.0 and 1.1 – Which means it’s compatible with both older and newer computers. Of course you will get a faster read and write speeds if your computer supports USB 2.0. But many older PC’s have USB 1.1 ports and I want to be able to use this external drive on any computer I plug it in to.
• Easy installation – If your computer is running Windows 2000 or higher you don’t even have to install a driver. Just plug and play.
• Media Support – This drive reads and writes all popular CD and DVD formats out there, including dual layer DVD’s.
• Impressive Speed - Provides 5x DVD-RAM write speeds, 8x (DVD+RW), and 6x (DVD-RW) I was able to burn a full 4.7 DVD in just under 12 minutes and a 750mb CD in under 5 minutes.
• Backup Large amounts of personal data – With a dual layer DVD I can store over 16,000 high resolution photos on just on disk.

And that’s just some of the many great features you will get with the InfoSafe External Slim USB 2.0 DVD +/- RW Dual Layer drive from Startech.com

This extensive tech review was brought to you by the dad behind Paintshopblog.com

I’m the Mother who takes photographs of her children everyday. Rarely does a day go by that I don’t take photos with my digital camera. Printing photos goes hand in hand with taking photos, and up until now I have relied on my local super center’s online 1 hour photo service to print my favorite photos primarily because every photo printer I have ever bought produced bad quality photos. That is, until I received the Epson PictureMate Dash.

The Epson PictureMate Dash is the first affordable personal printing lab for your home. The Epson PictureMate is not only compact but it’s portable too. Imagine being able to take this little printer with you to family gathering’s and being able to print everyone’s favorite photo right away. And, if you are a Mom who scrapbooks then this printer is perfect for you! I can guarantee that you will fall in love with it!

Setting up the Epson PictureMate Dash printer was quick and easy. You have the option to print from a memory card, camera, or your computer. I chose to use my camera’s memory card since it was the simplest option. Once I put my memory card into the printer I was able to edit and crop my photos with ease. There was even an option for borders as well as an option to decorate your photos with festive designs. Printing my 4×6 photos took about 37 seconds which is the fastest print time I have ever seen!
Many people are worried about actual photo quality when it comes to printing photos from their home printer. With the PictureMate, you don’t have to worry!. These photos look just as good or better than professional photo services I have used in the past, and the coloring is vibrant. I’m actually very impressed with my results! Additionally, these prints resist fading for up to 96 years in a frame and up to 200 years in album.

At only $99 the PictureMate Dash is a great buy and a perfect Christmas gift for the parent or grandparent who loves taking and printing photos almost instantly. You will be able to print affordable ( about 25.3 cents per photo) 4×6 photos anytime, anywhere.

Epson Picturemate Dash 4×6 Inkjet Printer

Kajeet is a new cell phone service for kids. So basically it’s the lastest tech gadget for kids and so far we (mom and 6 year old son) are loving it!
Kajeet is the solution for kid cell phones because there is no contract and no additional fees. All you have to do is buy the phone and pay as you go. The Kajeet Sanyo Katana phone is cool, ultra slim & sleek and perfect for kids. My son has the blue one and really likes the added digital camera! I guess it’s time to teach him all about ring tones and how much fun they can be! Did I mention it was also blue tooth compatible? WOW!
With the Kajeet service, parents can view who their kids are talking to and what they are doing with the phone. That is a big plus. Actually it’s one of the main reasons why I totally recommend the Kajeet service.

Overall, we give Kajeet a 4 thumbs up! We recommend it for back to school and the upcoming holiday season. It is sure to be a big hit with the kids! I hope you will take some time and visit Kajeet.com to see what it’s all about.

Normally all product reviews go through me (the mom behind amomsreview.com) but I wanted a father’s opinion to go along on this one. This Net Jet review is provided by techdaddy and our two little testers, ages 3 & 6.

The NETJET is Hasbro’s latest instant online gaming system for kids.

The NETJET was a breeze to setup. I simply plugged the controller in the USB port and NETJET done the rest. There was no searching for driver cd’s or no punching in long serial numbers. NETJET connects to the internet, then downloads and installs everything you need to get started gaming. It took less than a minute for NETJET to set everything up. After that I was promptly presented with the NETJET online interface full of games, to my surprise there was no ads, no pops, and no spyware.

The interface looks intuitive and sleek. All my games were categorized in easy to read menus, with each game providing a screenshot and a description. I was really impressed with the demos available online. How many systems out there let you test drive every game they offer without paying for them? Many times I have purchased games at retail stores, only to get it home and the game would be absolutely terrible. You don’t have to worry about purchasing a game you don’t like with NETJET. Try it out before and play it a full 30 minutes before you buy it.

Another thing I liked about the interface was that I didn’t have to use my mouse to navigate it. The NETJET uses a proprietary technology called QiGO that allows rapid and seamless communication between the controller and the internet. In simpler terms, I was able to kick back in my recliner and just play. No reaching for a mouse and pressing keys on the keyboard. I didn’t have to get up and change games. The controls and responsiveness during game play was perfect. To change games I simply hit the start button on my controller and exited back to the NETJET Arcade Interface. All my games were contained within the NETJET interface, all accessible with a press of controller button. Below is a screenshot of the NETJET interface.

The NETJET features a classic dogbone style controller with a modern day analog thumb stick built in. I am a fan of the classic style controllers. The feel of the controller resembles the feel of the Super Nintendo NES controller with added analog support. Very comfortable for gameplay!

If you are like me and have young children that enjoy playing games then you need NETJET. No longer will you have to worry about your children scratching up game disks. The games are stored in digital format on your computers hard drive. You can either purchase full versions of deluxe games from the online NETJET interface or you can purchase an access keys at local retailers that are inserted into the NETJET controller that allow you to unlock the full version of the game. The games retail for around $20 dollars each. These access keys look similar to a SD card and can be attached to a key ring. These access keys allow you to download and play your NETJET games from any computer.

There is nice variety of family oriented games available to satisfy all gamers, regardless of age. My 6 year old really enjoys games like Spongebob’s Pizza toss, Fairly Odd Parents Roach Rampage and Shirley’s revenge (A game featuring Jimmy Neutron). As for me, a 30 year old dad, I really enjoy playing games like Minigolf, Peak Performance Snowboarding, Mission Paintball and Kool Kart racing is the absolute blast. None of the games are violent so you don’t have to worry about your kids playing violent video games. There is a wide variety of games from sports to word search puzzles. I am confident every family member will find games they will enjoy. Below you will find a screen shot of me playing Kook Kart Racing.. GREAT GAME!

All the games I have played feature rich and colorful 3d graphics. The games graphics are comparable to games found on a Nintendo 64, Gamecube, Playstation 2, and XBOX consoles. The graphics are not as sharp and detailed as some on newer $400 and $500 dollar systems such as XBOX 360 and Playstation 3. Those systems are targeted more towards adult gamers anyway. Overall, I have to say I was presently surprised with the graphics this little NETJET system pumped out. The price tag of $24.99 is really a bargain. BTW, the sound quality was superb as well.
Since the entire system is contained within the controller it makes for easy portability. My kids take it along with them to their friends and relatives. There is no adult supervision needed when setting it up. My six year old doesn’t have any trouble plugging the controller into the USB port. The system truly is plug and play.To find out more about NETJET, hardware requirements and to view game play videos visit http://www.hasbro.com/tiger/netjet/

Whether there is no power due to a storm or my boys just want a nighttime light show on their bedroom ceiling, it seems like the batteries are almost always dead in the numerous flashlights we have lying around. So when I found out about the Triggerlite self-recharging flashlight I knew I had to try one out.

The triggerlite is a very small portable flashlight that has rechargeable lithium ion batteries. You charge and recharge the flashlight by releasing the lock and squeezing the trigger on the flashlight. You use it and charge it at the same time. It can be recharged for up to an average of 400 to 500 times.

The only drawback I see to this flashlight is that if you are in an emergency/power outage situation, it is going to take you at least 2-3 minutes to charge the flashlight for initial use. Otherwise, it is a great portable flashlight that can be used in many different ways. It’s also eco-friendly!  And, since it’s only $7.99 everyone should pick one up. You can pick one of these useful gadgets up at K-mart stores. To learn more go to the official Triggerlite website.

Nascar Baby, narrated by Jay Leno, is a Nascar-themed DVD for Nascar enthusiasts that want their kids to become NASCAR fans as well. Nascar Baby is from a line of sports-themed educational DVDs aimed at babies and toddlers. If you love NASCAR you will surely love this cute-as-can be DVD! If you have a child under 2 that is really into cars then Nascar Baby would be a great gift for them too!

Overall, we give Nascar Baby from Team Baby Entertainment a thumbs up for educational value and entertainment all in one! Your baby will be exposed to colors, letters, shapes, fast cars, and more! It’s kind of like Baby Einstein with cars! How cute is that? Nascar fans everywhere will love this!

You can buy Nascar Baby for $19.95 at TeamBabyEntertainment.com

Mother’s Day is coming up really soon. In fact, it’s only one week away. And, what better gift to give than technology & chocolate ! Chances are that if you are reading this review you are already a blogging mama or papa, and the Ipod & Chocolate gift set would be a perfect gift! If your not a techie then this gift will get you started! The Apple Ipod is perfect for listening to your favorite “grown up” music on the go, while washing dishes, folding clothes, and all the things that us mommies do! So, Dads and kids, this would be a great gift for Moms this Mother’s Day. Surprise your Mom this Mother’s Day with Best Buys Apple Ipod nano & chocolate gift set! The Apple Ipod nano comes in a super cute gift box that Moms will love and you can do so much with this tiny thing!

This gift set will be available exclusively in Best Buy Stores starting May 6th, 2007.
You can also win this Apple Ipod Nano & chocolate gift set for yourself (if you are a mom) or for your mom by entering the contests below!
Here is a list of sites that are giving away an Apple Ipod nano gift set for Mother’s Day to one lucky winner:

Five Minutes For Moms Contest

Real Mom Truths Contest