2009

What’s in a Name?

(image courtesy fromoldbooks) Welcome to another State of the eBook! To start off, the big news this week was publishers plotting to make eBooks second-class citizens by delaying their release. You can read all about it here. It isn’t pretty and it is time to let publishers know how we feel! Then there is the other big news… It’s NOOK WEEK!


ScoopFree Ultra Self-Cleaning Litter Box Review

Editor’s Note: This is a joint review between Adrian and Jessica. Adrian’s comments will be in black, and Jessica’s will be in blue italics Multi-tasking seems to be one of my strong points…work 40 plus hours a week, chase around a toddler, coach high school sports, have a small business, and have family priorities that put me in and out of Dr appointments and hospitals at least once a week…so honestly what else can I add? Oh … let’s throw in mowing the lawn, maintaining the house, and helping my wife with the everyday chores (ok so I duck as…


Jaguar and Land Rover spice things up but hold the curry

They may not be serving hamburgers at the corporate cookouts anymore, but luxury marques Jaguar and Land Rover still have the heart and soul of the British Isles. The 2008 purchase by India’s largest automaker Tata is yet to be readily apparent and each luxury brand is still about two-thirds UK sourced and about one-fifth German. For 2010, each line gets some minor touchups (OK, the Jag XJ is all new, and Land Rover upgrades LR3 to a 4), but the biggest news is under the hood. New V-8 engines all around for the two brands, complete with more power…


Review: Blue Microphone’s enCore 100 and 200

Blue has long made studio mikes and other devices like the Blue Eyeball web cam with a focus on quality construction and great audio.  Now they are trying to enter the live performance arena with their brand new enCore series of Microphones.  Blue was kind enough to send me samples of both the enCore 100 and the enCore 200 stage mikes.  Are they going to be good enough to unseat the venerable Shure SM57  and SM58?  Let’s find out.


Slide2Unlock2 Gets Updated to v2.20!

Slide2Unlock2, or more commonly known as S2U2, is a simple lock/unlock application which has the iPhone style slide unlocking for Windows Mobile. It can be used as a screen-saver when your device is idle. It has a CallerID function (but it may not work on some devices, so try it before using it daily); S2P control plugin; and volume control. S2U2 shows various system information items, even without unlocking and is highly customizable. Changes of v2.20 Removed the option “lock the device after any phone call when Bluetooth is on”. Added option “InCall Lock” (S2U2 Settings -> General) Added option…


Playboy releases their Official iPhone App

Oh don’t be shocked; we’ve all read it for the articles, and now you can do so from the privacy of your iPhone. You won’t find full nudity (although it is still rated 17+), but you will find “iconic monthly features” including the Playboy Interview, Playboy Advisor, 20 Questions, Party Jokes, Celebrities Hangin’ with Hef, and Fashion. Along with those items, you’ll also get some extra goodies… The new Playboy iphone app gives fans of the magazine a glimpse of the latest issue, along with exclusive content such as free Rabbit Head and Playmate wallpapers, and a Playmate video clip….


Joby Launches Gorillacam iPhone Camera App

I’ve been using my GorillaPod flexible tripod more and more. It works great with my iPhone and came in super-handy when I was using a number of iPhone camera apps while on vacation last week. Well Joby, the company behind the GorillaPod has released a free iPhone camera app. It is free, offers some nice features, works great and… did I mention… it is free!


Gboard Review: Gmail at lightening fast speeds

I recently made the move to making G-Mail my full time e-mail client.  In conjunction with the move, I also stopped using the Mac OS Mail application and am strictly reading and writing my e-mail via the G-Mail web based client. The transition has take some getting used to.  Reading and writing via the G-Mail site is a different experience than doing so via a regular mail application.  Simply put, it takes a heck of a lot more mouse movements and clicks when using the web based G-Mail method. When I first spotted the Gboard I immediately knew it was…


Proporta Antimicrobial Silicone Case for iPhone 3G/3Gs Review

Ever since the H1N1 virus made national headlines, it seems more and more people are becoming uber-germ conscious.  I can’t seem to turn my head without spotting another bottle of hand sanitizer strategically placed near the front of some store or by the check out lines. Computer keyboards and mobile phones are some of the worst offenders when it comes to spreading germs around.  According to Proporta the average mobile phone has close to 26,00 germs on it per square inch!  Yuck! To help protect you from these germs they’ve released an Antimicrobial Silicone Case for the iPhone 3G and…


The UMID mbook Pink Edition for the Impossible-to-buy-for Girly Gadget Girl

You can stop staring now. Sure, the UMID mbook Pink Edition is only a little bit larger than a Nintendo DS, but this dainty morsel is running full Windows XP! I am completely intrigued by the Handheld PC form factor, and I can’t help but be interested. Starting at $449 (including a storage pouch and 4GB microSD), you get five hours of “actual (not theoretical)” use for surfing, editing, emailing, chatting …whatever. This would be the a perfect complement to the MiFi that I received as an early Christmas gift (thanks mom!), to boot! If the pink is too girly…


Garia: Golf Cart made by the hands that build Porsches

The Garia Golf Cart is a truly unique vehicle for the links.  Made at the same factory where both the Porsche Boxster and Cayman are born, the Garia features the same level of meticulous attention to design and luxury. The cart features a built refrigerator, hand-stitched seats, and an exclusive personalization program where you can choose to have the Garia painted in your favorite color or matched to your other cars. The Garia features a double wishbone front suspension similar to those found in sports cars and inspired by Formula 1 cars. The drive train is built by an Italian…


iClassic Review: iPod Classic Emulator for iPhone OS

While it’s true the iPod which is bundled on the iPhone and iPod Touch is pretty slick, sometimes you just have to break it down “old scho0l.” Check out my video demo of “iClassic” for jailbroken iPhones, which emulates the iPod Classic in every which way right on your iPhone. It’s just amazing.


iAssociate Lite for iPhone/Touch App Review

I have begun to like playing puzzle games, especially word games.   Maybe I am getting old, but games that require thought have become more fun for me.  I have reviewed many different types of puzzle games, including several word games but iAchieve has turned out to be not only fun and addictive but very unique.  One of my Sophomore students showed me iAchieve Lite and told me I must try it because she thought I would love it.  She was correct!  I was instantly addicted.


First Impressions of the Barnes & Noble nook

All day I have been perking up at the sound of trucks on the street, each time hoping it would be the UPS truck delivering my much-anticipated Christmas present from my wonderful husband–the brand new Barnes & Noble nook eBook reader. My husband pre-ordered my nook on the very first day, so I knew I would get it before December 9.  I did a little dance of joy yesterday to learn that he had gotten the tracking number for the shipment and that the nook was winging its way to me overnight!


Review: Blue Microphone’s Mikey iPod Microphone

I have tried at least 2 different iPod recording solutions since the invention of the dock connector.  The first one was the Belkin Tune Talk.  I loved it and it allowed me to record a podcast away from my computer.  Well it met an untimely demise in a toilet.  Yeah it got flushed accidently.  That’s all I will say about that.   The next one was the Griffin iTalk Pro.  Griffin no longer makes this, but I loved using it as well.  However, a great new challenger has come to challenge Belkin for iPod/iPhone recording microphone superiority.  It is from…


PC Game Review: Risen

A recent trend in games has been altering the naming structure to try to either dissociate with older games or mask how many games have preceded the release. Recent examples include the indeterminate ‘Wolfenstein’, the third Red Faction game being called Guerrilla, and the removal of he ‘Call of Duty’ from much of the ‘Modern Warfare 2’ advertising. Now we have Risen. Risen is the fourth entry by developer Pyranha Bytes in the classic Gothic game franchise that … what? Huh? Really … are you sure? Hmmm … well apparently Risen is NOT part of the Gothic series. I just…


Sony Store Moving to EPub

We have an official date for the Sony move to ePub… this Friday, December 11th. Going forward, ALL Sony eBooks will be available only as ePubs, and the proprietary BBeB format will be removed. If you did not opt into the PRS-500 upgrade/trade-in program, be sure to back up your library! Also on Friday, the Sony Reader software is coming to Macs and PCs, so presumably you can read your Sony content on your laptop if e-ink drives you nuts! Finally, Sony is renaming their eBook store the “Reader Store”, to better tie in with their Sony Reader line. What…


The Netbook Gamer: Star Wars: Mysteries of the Sith (1998, FPS)

While in theory this could be game could have been called Star Wars Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith expansion, fortunately it was just called Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith and is easily abbreviated as MotS. It was released in early 1998, a mere four months after the release of a game still marked as one of the best first-person shooters of all time, and despite getting lower reviews than that game it remains a fan favorite and a standout release for an expansion pack. Yes, and since it was released more than ten…


AT&T Wants to Know about Your Network Problems

AT&T has released a new program for the iPhone called “AT&T Mark the Spot”. The purpose of the program is to help you, as an AT&T customer, report network outages, issues, and dead spots. In this release AT&T makes it really simple to report problems. It will capture your GPS location or you can submit about a location not specifically where you are at. The app has some basic things it wants to know: Is it a dropped call, failed call, no coverage, data failure, or poor voice quality problem? Does it happen once, seldom, often, or always? You can…


iBend iPhone/iPod touch Stand Review

When Larry posted news about the iBend’s release, he hit the nail on the head with regard to the iPhone accessory’s main draw. As he put it “not everything in life has to be fancy”. He was right and no one could say the iBend is fancy. A few months after its initial release however, the iBend did get a bit fancier with the release of their new Artists Series. These added some artistic flair to the accessory and $1 to the $4.99 price of the “iBend Classic”. We got our hands on one of the iBend Artist Series stands;…


Gateway Gadgets

(Gates courtesy of JKMedia) We all had that one device that led us into the world of true gadget loving. It’s that one device that you obsessed over, read about, joined forums to discuss…once it starts it’s an addiction. Since it’s the holidays, I thought it might be a good time to head down memory lane and see what gadget was our first geek love…