August 2010

Ivyskin- A Case Study in How Not to Make Friends Nor Influence People

Here is the latest in a string of companies YOU may want to business with, but I will never again. I placed an order for an interesting-looking iPad case that will have the ability to snap on a backup battery for those days that seem to go on forever and run down the iPad’s charge. Note the date. The next week I decided to buy a different case so I tried to cancel the order… Daniel Cohen to ivySkin Sales date Sun, May 16, 2010 at 10:29 PM subject Re: Ivyskin: New Order # Please cancel this order and…

Reviews

Switch Easy Colors for iPhone 4 Review

Silicone Cases are very popular. Not only because they are generally in-expensive but because they also come in a ton of colors. In addition they make a great “throw-away” case. Everyone needs a “throw-away” case. What’s a “throw-away” case you ask? It’s a case that you always have on hand in case of emergency. One that’s usually cheap and therefore one that you really don’t care all that much about. Leave it in your gear bag or in your glove box. If you find your self in need of a case for your iPhone 4 it’ll be there waiting. Priced…

eBooks, Editorials

Is the Paper Book Dead?

There’s been quite the firestorm of debate over the future of the printed word recently. With the new Kindles selling out and Apple selling iPads like crazy, everyone is tripping over each other predicting the end of the road for paper. But is it really time to say goodbye, or are predictions of paper book’s death greatly exaggerated? In my opinion, there are a few areas that need to hit a “tipping point” before ebooks truly overtake paper books in all areas. Price, audience, software, and content all need to come together. And it’s important to remember that ebooks fall…

Music Diary, Reviews

Music Diary Reviews: Corporate Boardroom Edition

Over the last few months I have done short reviews on more than 30 CD’s in two articles here and here. As I mentioned before, the response has been amazing! I continue to get emails and more unsolicited (but always welcome) invites to listen to music. But I also have been called out as an elitist. Because I love jazz and modern classical music and tend to prefer rather esoteric styles in those genres, and because I have always had a fondness for highly skilled artists who polish their technical abilities to better serve their craft, I am often seen…

Game Diary, Reviews

DS Game Review: Puzzle Quest 2

The original Puzzle Quest was a revelation, what I called “Casual Meets Hardcore and Loves It!” back in 2007. The game featured a solid RPG story and progression mechanic with an enhanced ‘match 3’ puzzle mechanic for the combat system. It was smart, fun and tremendously addictive! The follow-up, which I reviewed here, was “a decent game, it just pales in comparison to the original.” Now we get the ‘true’ sequel – does it live up to expectations? Read on and find out! The Hype: Puzzle Quest 2 marks the return of the world’s leading puzzle adventure series and its…

Music Diary, News

My Family Now Has a Scientific Reason to Hate My Music: Their Brains!

If you have read any of my music reviews here, you know I am strongly drawn to arrhythmic and atonal music in the jazz and classical genres. Needless to say this sort of music isn’t very popular. There are certain artists that I love that most people I know, even those who like some amount of modern jazz, just cannot fathom. Here is a great example, with a very young Frank Zappa appearing on the Steve Allen show to play … the bicycle … Next we have Pierre Schaeffer, who is credited with the origins of ‘musique concrete’ movement of…

News

Nuance Healthcare to Launch Dragon Medical Mobile Search

Nuance, the company behind Dragon Dictation and Dragon NaturallySpeaking has done it again. This time they are going after the medical market with an app that anyone in a healing profession will likely find quite useful. Nuance Healthcare, their medical division, is launching the first of their four iPhone apps for clinicians. Dragon Medical Mobile Search brings speech recognition specifically designed for doctors, PAs and nurses to the smartphone. The Dragon Medical Mobile Search app will give clinicians a smarter way to search for medical information… The voice-enabled medical search app for iPhone is a tool for clinicians to dictate…

Reviews

iPad Accessory Review: the River Garden Oberon Design iPad Cover

Of all the cases that I tried when I was using the Kindle 2 and the Kindle DX, there was one brand that always stood out — not only because their Kindle covers were functional, but because they were also absolutely gorgeous. Of course I am talking about the cases made by Oberon Design, the California based company which is well known for their leather folios and journals … and now for their eReader covers. When I eventually let go of both Kindles because Kevin and I had purchased iPads, I knew that as soon as an Oberon style iPad Cover was…

Game Diary, Reviews

QRANK for iPhone/Touch App Review

I am currently back hard at work. We have begun football season and are in the middle of 2-a-day workouts which takes pretty close to every waking hour of the coaches. With that said, many of my usual daily entertainment is left behind for things like eating and showering because the loss of free time. QRANK has stepped in to the rescue. It is a daily short quiz that includes current events and common knowledge subjects. The quiz is entertaining, challenging and only takes a few minutes to complete. Open QRANK each day to complete the daily quiz and compare…

News

eWallet for Mac OS X Now Available

I am a huge fan of Ilium software’s eWallet for the iPhone and iPad. It is a great way to keep information on my handheld devices in a manner that is safe and secure but also quickly accessible. The only problem I have had with it is that the desktop version of eWallet was only in Beta and the sync functionality was highly limited. Since I use multiple devices that was a bit of an issue for me. Thankfully that is no longer the case. Ilium has just gone live with the news that eWallet for Mac OS X is…

News

Fake ‘Girl Quits Job’ Story Hits a Nerve We All Secretly Fantasize About!

How many emails / texts / whatever did you get yesterday linking to the ‘Girl Quits Job Via Whiteboard’ article at The Chive? Not too surprisingly, the whole thing was a hoax produced by the creators of The Chive, and acted by a young woman (and aspiring actress) named Elyse Porterfield. TechCrunch has the details of the hoax. If you were like me, you enjoyed it and really didn’t apply your critical thinking skills to the now rather obvious likelihood that it was a fabrication. Why? Well … why is it that Office Space remains such a popular movie? Certainly…

News

Scosche Releases reVIVE II Dual USB Car and Home Chargers for iPad

Sosche reVIVE II Dual USB car and home chargers let you charge two devices at the same time from a single power source. There’s one for home and one for the car and both are available now. The company notes that According to the Pew Research Center adults between 18 and 29 own four gadgets on average and those between 30 and 64 average just under three, making the need for a dual USB charger even more important. (Statistics for tech-bloggers weren’t offered since personal experience indicates it would totally skew the stats.) The chargers have both a 2.1 Amp…

Reviews

iPad App Review: The Chalkpad

I am a huge fan of diagramming applications. As a coach, I spend countless hours diagramming. X’s and O’s are much more than people think. Not only do we draw plays and defenses to explain to our athletes, but they are used heavily in planning. Football is a game of leverage and numbers. As a defensive coordinator, it is my job to devise a plan to out leverage the offense and get at least one unblocked defender to the point of attack according to the tendencies I have. The way these theories are tested is through diagramming. I spend hours…

Reviews

Home Tech Accessory Review- IDAPT i4 Charging Station

I have way too many devices that need to be charged on a regular basis. There’s my iPhone, my iPod touch, my LiveScribe Echo smartpen, an assortment of Bluetooth headsets, the Motorola headset I use for running and more. The result is a jumble of wall chargers and a tangle of cables that is annoying, collects dust and just looks terrible. That’s why I was excited to check out IDAPT’s latest Universal charger, the IDAPT i4. The i4 looks similar to the i3 but with one significant, and useful change, it now has a USB port on the side that…

News

Green Diary: Making You Feel Better About All That Energy Your Gadgets Are Sucking

It’s an interesting dilemma: the readers of this site tend to love their gadgets, but at the same time want to be respectful of the environment. All of our electronic tools, toys – whatever you want to call them – use resources in their manufacturing, may contain toxic materials that are harmful if not disposed of properly, and require energy to operate. If you’re like me, you mitigate some of your less environmentally friendly hobbies by making up for them in other ways (I use an electric lawnmower, for crying out loud). With an eye toward balancing our interest in…

Reviews

StarTech Standalone IDE/SATA Hard Drive Duplicator Review

As a Systems Administrator I spend of a lot of time building and distributing workstation images. After the initial build is completed and tested the worst part of it all (for me at least) is the distribution to all the machines that need it. There has been cases where I had a few hundred machines, and then sometimes it’s as little as 12-15. Either way, my favorite methods of imaging machines are the ones that are the most hands off. I’ve been through my share of software solutions that work very well, but the worst part is all the setup…

Reviews

Speck GeoMetric iPhone 4 Case Review

The Speck GeoMetric case for the iPhone is the first case I’ve come across with a textured, dimensional pattern which offers a very unique feel in your hand. Made from the ever-popular TPU (themorplastic polyurethane) the case soft and flexible but stays form fitting just enough the hug the lines of the iPhone perfectly. The GeoMetric is currently available in one color, what Speck calls “DeathRock Black.” Someday I’ll have to ask Speck who comes up with the interesting names they choose for their colors. Speck doesn’t include a screen shield with the GeoMetric. If you desire screen protection their…

Reviews

Sena Sarach Ultraslim for iPhone 4 Review

Yesterday we took a look at Sena’s Argyle for iPhone 4. Today we’ll take a look at another of their pouch-style cases- the Sena Serach Ultraslim for iPhone 4. If you use your iPhone with just a Clear-Coat type film on it (or nothing at all) this might be just the right protection for those times you toss your iPhone in a pocket or briefcase. It is slim, good looking and highly protective of the delicate device. Let’s take a look. From Sena- The Sarach UltraSlim case is a part of the unique Sarach Designer Series by Sena. It is…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

Honda Accord Crosstour and Acura ZDX crosswhatevers

“But, what are they?” As if to corner the market on producing the most polarizing vehicles for the 2010 model year, Honda and its luxury division Acura have each released a new vehicle that almost forces consumers to scratch their heads faster than the heartbreak of psoriasis. No definitive term has surfaced yet to identify the niche segment the new Accord Crosstour from Honda and ZDX from Acura occupy yet automotive history has seen similar units before. When I first gazed my attention to these marriages of sedan and crossover utility vehicle I was served with an image circa 1981-82…

News

The Augen Tablet Does Even More Damage to Android’s Brand

This has been a sore spot with me for some time. We keep hearing about these potentially wonderful Android tablets, and what ends up appearing is something underpowered, with a poor resolution screen and underwhelming built-in software. Augen’s tablet was the darling of the internet world for a few weeks, since it was cheap, being sold at KMart, and promised Google Marketplace! Of course, like all things that sound too good to be true, the Augen tablet didn’t live up to the hype. It was slow, the resistive screen was unimpressive, and Google Marketplace didn’t work. Augen kept promising it…

eBooks, News

Google Has Quantified the Number of Books in the World

I pity whoever had to sit down and do all the work, but the Google Books project has calculated there’s something in the range of 129,864,880 books. They must be fairly certain if they felt comfortable nailing it down (as opposed to just rounding and saying 129,000,000+, since I for one am not quibbling over a few thousand). It’s sort of an awe-inspiring number! Personally, this means I really need to get cracking if I want to read as many as possible. Sadly, unless I find the fountain of youth, it’s unlikely I’ll get through them all. At a book…

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