September 2010

Random Cool Stuff: ABC’s for Baby Gamers!

How young is too young to start indoctrinating your children in the ways of the gamer? NEVER too young! So instead of reading ‘Chicka Chicka ABC’ or ‘Goodnight Moon’ to your toddler, tuck them in with the ‘Gamer’s Alphabet’! Anyway, ElJeffe at the Penny-Arcade forums talked about his book and how he created it: Okay, here’s the Gamer’s Alphabet. First, this is roughly how I made it. Instead of using adhesive paper, I used plain, sturdy printer paper and spray-on glue, because I couldn’t find any adhesive paper that didn’t suck for printing. Also, the instructions make it sound like…


Duracell myGrid Makes Cordless Charging Easy, Simple and Fast

We have looked at a number of cordless charging systems over the last year or so, but now a heavyweight in the world of mobile-device power jumped into the field in a big way when they released their myGrid system. Duracell’s myGrid offers several different kits that let you simply set your device down and watch it charge up. With the myGrid… Cord clutter is a thing of the past. With myGrid, you can easily charge up to four mobile devices at the same time. Simply attach a Power Sleeve™ or Power Clip™ to each device and drop it onto myGrid…


Android on a Palm Tungsten C!

(image courtesy Dmitry Grinberg) Yes, Android has been ported to iPhones, but what about older devices? If you’ve got a Tungsten C, you can (theoretically) run Android 2.1 on it! Yes, a Tungsten C can run a higher version of Android than some official Android phones! This upgrade (if you can call it that) was done by Dmitri Grinberg, possibly the last major hacker/developer of the Palm OS platform. He’s claimed for some time to be working on “DGOS”, a pseudo-upgrade to Palm OS. Either to not endanger his DGOS project or because the Android port is so unstable, it…


iPad Cases From Vintage Comic Books

Etsy is one of my favorite web sites.  If you’re not familiar with the site it’s a place that brings people who make things together with the people who want to buy them.  A few weeks ago while browsing it I came across the “store” Vintage Covers.  They turn vintage comic books (40-50 years old) into cases for the iPad (and other devices as well.)  Here’s how the store’s proprietor, Randy, describes it. For those who want to go high tech but still stay classic, I am making covers from vintage books, comics and magazines, for the iPad, Kindle, Kobo,…


PC/XBOX360/PS3 Game Review: Dragon Age: Origins – Witch Hunt DLC

Last month I reviewed the Golems of Amgarrek DLC, the month before that I reviewed the Leliana’s Song DLC, and the month before that I reviewed the Darkspawn Chronicles DLC with each one representing very different types of gaming experiences within the context of the Dragon Age universe: one was combat driven and narrow, one was a character study that got us behind the scenes with one of the main characters from the main game, and the most recent one was a high-level combat-centric module. I also noted that the final DLC was coming, called Witch Hunt, which was supposed…


DS Game Review: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (RPG, 2010)

There is one thing for certain – hardcore console gamers do not like anyone to think of handheld gaming systems as equal to their favorite platform. Back in 2006 Square Enix announced that the next main Dragon Quest game would launch on the Nintendo DS, and the console gaming world pretty much exploded. But from the initial reactions when the game launched in Japan last year it seems that it wasn’t so bad after all. Now the game has been released in North America and I have put over 100 hours into it! How does it work? Read on and…


Friendly-Facebook Browser for iPad Review

My iPad is the first gadget I have owned that seems to constantly grow and change the more I use it.  At least once a week I find a new use and grow ever more dependent on my magical little device.  I still use my MacBook Pro for most of my writing and heavy computer use, but the iPad is my main media consumption and gaming device.  As many of you know, IOS apps are fantastic with the added real estate, and many companies and websites are utilizing the UI and space.  With all of the goodness, there is still…


Ford celebrating Vans and 8-Tracks

Ford Motor Company is celebrating a couple of milestones this week. The first is the 50th anniversary of the E-Series fullsize van, originally called Econoline. Second, and more importantly to some of us, is the 45th anniversary of its first offering of an 8-track tape player option in its vehicles. In 1965, car buyers were given a new option for factory sound systems. An 8-track stereo tape player was being offered in new 1966 model Mustangs, T-Birds and Lincolns. This new recorded music format was developed by Lear Jet along with the assistance of Ampex, Ford, General Motors, Motorola and…


EA on DLC Sales and ‘Project $10’: Apparently People DON’T Mind Our Hands In Their Wallets

OK, so maybe that isn’t an exact quote … but it is more or less what they said at GamesIndustry.biz. Basically it comes down to this: while publishers like EA might still be concerned about used game sales, for sports games they are seeing a 60% conversion based on Project $10 license sales, and the high-profit DLC business is just continuing to pour money onto the bottom line! On DLC sales as a major revenue source: “FIFA 10 generated just over $30m in gross DLC sales – so that’d be above and beyond the revenue that we made just selling…


The Able Planet EXTREME Foldable Active Noise Canceling Headphones with LINX AUDIO Review

Able Planet has made a name for themselves by manufacturing quality noise canceling headphones which are both comfortable to wear and produce excellent sound. Their Extreme headphone line combines their LINX AUDIO technology with fashionable colors and in the case of these bright pink earphones, a cause*. LINX AUDIO “creates high frequency harmonics that enhance sound quality and speech clarity of difficult to hear words or notes, and increases the perception of loudness without increasing volume.” The hope here is that if people can clearly hear spoken words and music when listening, they won’t feel the need to crank the volume louder, which can…


iPhone 4 Case Review- Dexim CYL Premium Silicone Case

Cases for the iPhone 4 have been rolling out in huge numbers. Regardless of your taste and aesthetic sensibilities there is now a case for you. Here’s a quick look at one of the newer ones. It comes from Dexim and is a new take on the traditional silicone skin. Is it the case for you? Read on to find out. The CYL Premium Silicone Case for iPhone 4 comes with the case itself, a screen protector, a squeege-card for applying the screen protector and a cleaning cloth. It comes from Dexim’s “Color Your Life Collection’ and is described on…


izozzi FormFit iPhone 4 Case Review

There are plenty of “artsy” cases for the iPhone 3G/3Gs and it’s only a matter of time before we start seeing our fair share for the iPhone 4. I only hope that the cases that are to come are as cool as the ones I just received from izozi.com The company takes the work of real-world artists and slaps it onto the back of their cases. The iPhone 4 case is made from a high-quality thermoplastic and features and anti-scratch, anti-glare polycarbonate window where the artwork shines through. The case reminds me of a cross between the Incase Frame case…


Hey, Why Not? Help Send the Jason Parker Quartet to Iceland With 3 Mouse Clicks!

No money involved, and you just have to enter a name and email. I have talked about the Jason Parker Quartet quite a bit in reviews of their music as well as praising their business ethics and pay-what-you-want practice. Now they have made it on to a list of bands nominated to be sent to Iceland to represent Seattle. Voting is open, and it is quick and easy. Naturally if you live in Seattle or know any of the other groups you might have already voted, but otherwise here is a chance to support a great band that is doing…


Sony Blames Price for PSP Go Failure – Here are MY Thoughts!

Image courtesy of Geeky Gadgets OK, we are approaching the one-year anniversary of the release of the PSP Go. Can we all PLEASE just admit now that the PSP Go is a unmitigated failure? I mean, personally it is my all-time favorite handheld gaming system due to the small size, solid build, short load-times, and so on. Yet I consider it one of the great failures in all of gaming history. Why? It has nothing to do with the hardware – and everything to do with Sony. Here are a couple of quotes from the MCV interview that every other…


Hate Seeing In-game Advertising? Well … Then STOP Buying That Stuff!

The relationship between brand advertising and games is not new – many pinball game I remember from my youth had blatant branding and tie-ins, and then in the late 70s and early 80’s companies such as Atari and Intellivision used tie-ins with popular products to boost sales. And as a reminder, the video game arcade industry in the early 80’s was estimated as being the size of the movie industry and all of Nevada’s casinos … combined! So obviously brands wanted a piece of that action – but most efforts in those early years were not all that successful, generally…


iPad Accessory Review: the Just Mobile AluPen

One of the first things I wished for when I first got my iPad was a way to use it as a tablet computer. The iPad’s large screen was simply begging for handwriting input, and programs like PenUltimate, SketchBook, Brushes, and photo editors like ColorSplash were ripe for a better input device than my pointer finger. Because of the iPad’s capacitive touch screen, any old stylus would not do, plus I wanted a stylus that wasn’t too pointy. I’d seen quite a few capacitive styli that would work, but I thought they were pretty homely when compared to my iDevice’s…


Ooma Rolls Out Cheap iPhone VOiP Plan

Thanks to Ooma, my home phone system now costs me a grand total of $0.00 each month. I liked the original Ooma system quite a bit, and I LOVE the new Ooma Telo I reviewed early in the summer. One of the best new features of the Ooma system isn’t exactly part of the Ooma system. A few months ago the company rolled out an iPhone app. What makes this app so special isn’t that it runs in the background on iOS 4.0, although that DOES make it quite useful. No, what makes this iPhone app so special is that…


A Smartphone User’s Worst Nightmare…

(image courtesy Foxnomad) Warning: The image in this post may be very disturbing for iPhone owners everywhere. It’s a nightmare for any smartphone user, really. The devices are so powerful, yet so, so fragile… This is my coworker’s iPhone. I don’t know all the details, except that he dropped it while it was out of its bumper case. While neither of us are physicists, we theorized that had it had the bumper on it, the damage might have been less severe (or nonexistent). Luckily for him, the camera still works so he won’t need to run out and replace the…


XtremeMac Reveals Tango TRX Bluetooth Audio Solution for iPod, iPhone and iPad

XtremeMac has just unveiled their new Tango TRX high-fidelity wireless audio system for iPod, iPhone and iPad. The Tango TRX offers – superior sound quality, wireless audio connectivity, sleek design and an exclusive app to create a unique and powerful listening experience. Using the latest Bluetooth technology for wirelessly streaming high quality audio the Tango TRX has two midrange drivers, two dome tweeters and a downward firing subwoofer. But that is only part of the story… A free app from XtremeMac integrates with the unit to enhance both control and functionality. With the app you … can control music directly…


Music Diary Reviews: Dogs & Cats Living Together Edition

Over the last few months I have done dozens of short CD reviews articles here, here and here. I continue to get great feedback about this ‘Quick Review’ format, so I plan to keep using it as a way to give a brief overview of a number of new releases all at once. Last time I changed things up a bit by looking at a couple of not-so-good releases. Fortunately I have some great stuff to review this time – but am changing things up again! Did you notice the title doesn’t say ‘Quickie Jazz CD Reviews’? That is because…


USB Fever Compact Keyboard Review

If you spend time on the go, you’ve gotten used to laptop size keyboards and small trackpads. Personally, I’ve actually found that having the trackpad nearby as I’m typing to be more convenient than using a separate keyboard and mouse. So when I had the opportunity to review the USB Fever Compact Keyboard with Trackpad, I jumped at the chance. The keyboard is very light and solidly constructed. There are no creaking or awkward seams. I’ve used some wireless keyboards that are flimsy, which makes for poor typing on a lap or on the go, and so I’m extra picky…