August 2011

Nightly Quiz….

Editorials

Nightly Quiz….

So we are having dinner tonight and Elana, my NPR and talk radio-junkie wife, gives us one of the tidbits she learned while listening to NPR today. The question- “How many different languages are in use in the world at this moment.” I made my guess and my father-in-law thought I was way too high. (“You’re nuts.” were his exact works.) Well I wasn’t that far off. So I ask you… How many languages (not dialects but LANGUAGES) are in use today world wide? Don’t be lame and cheat by Googling it. JUST GUESS…

Lorex LIVE SENSE monitoring Baby J

Reviews

Lorex LIVE SENSE Gives Parents (and Grandparents) Peace of Mind

Photos: Author Having never been blessed with children of my own, I never quite got a grasp of everything new parents had to worry about nor how extensive their “to-do” list was … until last Christmas when we got word of the impending arrival of my wife’s first grandchild. Fast forward to July 26, and Baby J arrives in fine fashion. In no time I begin hearing “I can’t wait until we can start babysitting him over here.” What? The baby is coming here? “I’m not ready.” “The house isn’t ready.” “Where did the time go?” The very next day…

Mac Game Review: Jack of All Tribes

Game Diary, Reviews

Mac Game Review: Jack of All Tribes

I recently reviewed the iPad version of Jack of All Tribes, a ‘casual time management meets sim meets strategy’ game. I thoroughly enjoyed the game, so when I was able to review the newly released Mac version, I immediately jumped at the chance! Let’s see how the game did in the transition from tablet to computer! The Hype: Travel to the past with Jack and rule a prehistoric tribe in this fun time management game with puzzle elements! Help fellow tribesmen set up their homes and create thriving villages. Keep villagers happy with food, drinks and entertainment; protect them from…

Music Diary Notes: The Jazz Session - Final Plea for Subscribers!

Music Diary, News

Music Diary Notes: The Jazz Session – Final Plea for Subscribers!

I have written quite a bit about Jason Crane and the Jazz Session here, as it is a fresh and engaging interview series that neatly weaves together music and chat in a way that I very much enjoy. The Jazz Session is free for listeners, which immediately puts Crane in the position of finding ways to fund everything related to the interview show (I know, just like every other person running a website!), which have included ads, Amazon tie-ins for music featured on the show, and even support from the site AllAboutJazz. But it wasn’t enough – for Crane, running…

Bongiovi Acoustics DPS (Digital Power Station) for iOS Rocks Your World

News

Bongiovi Acoustics DPS (Digital Power Station) for iOS Rocks Your World

Want richer bass, higher clarity and an all around enhanced audio experience? Bongiovi Acoustics: Bongiovi DPS (Digital Power Station) technology has it. The technology is currently available in iHome dock stations and select Toyota models and, for the first time, Bongiovi’s technology is available as an iOS app. The technology “re-masters your compressed digital audio files at the source and then, using device specific profiles, optimizes the output for your listening device (headphone, speaker, earbud, etc).” I tried the iOS app and was rather impressed with the enhanced audio pumped out by my iPod touch and my iPad. As the company…

Adventures in Customer Support: AT&T

Editorials

Adventures in Customer Support: AT&T

Guess which Stooge is Doug in this little scenario It all began back in January . . . See, here’s the deal:  for the kids’ “big holiday gift,” I got them both iPhone 4s.  Alas, now you have to get limited data plans.  But these are good kids, and I knew that if I got the lowest plan and threatened them with severe consequences–and then had to actually dole out punishment one time–they would stay on WiFi, not download games and music over the cell network, and otherwise avoid non-WiFi data. So yes, one month they both went over.  I…

Pop Goes The Music Diary: Steal Me, Steal You, Oh Yeah, Says Who?

Music Diary

Pop Goes The Music Diary: Steal Me, Steal You, Oh Yeah, Says Who?

When ‘Born this way’ came out it was a pretty clear copy & paste of Madonna’s Express Yourself, as I discussed here. No one denies that, not even the artists – they just say that ‘everything is cool’. Of course, Madonna herself has been the subject of many lawsuits in the other direction … but more on that later. Now Lady Gaga is in trouble again, this time accused of stealing ‘Judas’ from a similarly-titled ‘Juda’. You can read some details here, but I won’t go into it anymore right now. What I thought would be more interesting is to…

In Apple We Trust

Editorials

In Apple We Trust

As you may have heard, Apple has surpassed Exxon to be the most valuable company in the world. This is hot on the heels of Apple having more money than the Federal government before the debt ceiling was raised. This indicates two things; one, the country needs some financial overhaul, and two, Apple is an unstoppable business machine. Clearly what we need to do is combine Apple and our currency! Forget the dollar, start counting in iPods instead! Surprisingly, these line up quite nicely: $1 bill=white Apple earbuds $5 bill=iPod Shuffle $10 bill=iPod Nano $20 bill=iPod Touch $50 bill=Wifi iPad…

Music Diary Notes: Wal-Mart Exits the MP3 Business!

Gear Bits, Music Diary

Music Diary Notes: Wal-Mart Exits the MP3 Business!

It has been an amazing story – Apple burst onto the MP3 store scene when competing MP3 players were in place and markets were already emerging, and yet within a couple of years you would have thought that they invented the entire category. Yet a few years later as Amazon and later Wal-Mart entered the MP3 marketplace, many thought that both retailers’ reputation for low-price sales would mean the end of dominance for Apple. Of course that never happened, and Amazon has desperately struggled for market share, to the point of taking millions of dollars in losses giving away the…

Review: The Joy Factory Zip USB Touch-n-go Multi-Charging Station with ZipTail Receivers

Reviews

Review: The Joy Factory Zip USB Touch-n-go Multi-Charging Station with ZipTail Receivers

Charging cables and cords… they’re everywhere. Literally everywhere. Have an iPhone? You need a 5W wall adapter and a USB cable. An iPad? You need a 10W wall adapter and a USB cable. Using a Samsung Galaxy Tab? You’ll need one of their proprietary chargers. Have a Blackberry or Android phone? Most likely you need a microUSB adapter connected to a wall charger. And the list goes on and on. I hate the mess of cords. That’s why I’ve been so interested in the various conductive charging systems that have been coming to market for the past few years. The…

When Is an eReader an Impulse Buy?

eBooks, Editorials

When Is an eReader an Impulse Buy?

Amazon started selling the Kindle 3G With Special Offers (“Kindeal 3G) in May, for $164 – a drop of 25 from the full non-ad-supported version. Two weeks ago, they dropped that price further, to $139. This week, they have started selling the refurbished Kindle WiFi for $100 and the refurb Kindle 3G for $130. These are not ad-supported versions of the device, but the full versions that sell for $139 and $189 respectively, in their non-refurb models. This sure looks like the typical inventory-clearing moves of a manufacturer about to introduce a new model. The current generation was introduced right around one year ago, and speculation…

Yum Log: So Tasty We Had to Share: Trader Joe's Smoked Sea Salt

Yum Log

Yum Log: So Tasty We Had to Share: Trader Joe’s Smoked Sea Salt

There’s more to life than gadgets and gear — hard to believe I know — but true!! For example there are things like… food and drink. And with so many great flavors and food experiences out there, we just had to start bringing you some of our favorites. That’s where the Yum Log comes in. The Yum Log is all about the food and drink experiences you just want to have. And the first Yum Log entry is… Trader Joe’s Naturally Smoked Sea Salt Elana brought this home the other day and it is just YUM. It is smokey and…

Rant: Google + Updated to Support iPod Touch, but PLEASE Don't Tell Me It Has 'iPad Support' ... It Doesn't!

News

Rant: Google + Updated to Support iPod Touch, but PLEASE Don’t Tell Me It Has ‘iPad Support’ … It Doesn’t!

Yesterday the Google + iOS app was updated, with the following changes noted: – Huddle settings – Aggregated circle add notifications – iPod touch & iPad support – Performance and stability improvements So … they are claiming iPad ‘support’? What does that actually mean, anyway? That it will install and be a minimally functional app that looks and performs terribly? Well, if that is the case, I guess they are correct. When I think of ‘support’ I look to the iPod Touch version, which looks like this: These are the identical screenshots, yet offer VERY different user experiences. The iPad…

Five Reasons I Didn't Buy a HP TouchPad Last Weekend

Editorials

Five Reasons I Didn’t Buy a HP TouchPad Last Weekend

As most tech-heads are aware, this past weekend HP ran a $100 off ‘instant coupon’ special on the HP TouchPad. In addition, certain retail shops ran additional $50 off specials and Staples even had a $100 off deal, meaning it was possible to get the 16GB version of the TouchPad for $299 – $349. I know many folks who simply couldn’t resist the price and went right out to grab one. Since I am a big Palm webOS fan as I indicated in my review of the Palm Pixi Plus, I certainly printed out the Staples coupon – yet I…

Macbook Air Gear Review: ACME Made Skinny Sleeve Stretch Shell

Reviews

Macbook Air Gear Review: ACME Made Skinny Sleeve Stretch Shell

If you have one of the sexy 2010 or 2011 MacBook Airs, then it makes absolutely no sense to cover that svelte beauty in a big fat laptop case. ACME Made has got perhaps one of the thinnest and most minimalistic sleeves that I have seen, so whether you prefer to carry your Air in a laptop bag or not, the Skinny Sleeve Stretch Shell may be its perfect protector. I was sent a review sample in black, but there is also a purple version; the Skinny Sleeve is available for both the 11″ and 13″ MacBook Airs. Composed of…

Review: AViiQ Portable Charging Station

Reviews

Review: AViiQ Portable Charging Station

The promise of converged devices like the iPhone was, among other things, the ability to travel light. Instead of needing to bring a phone, an address book, a music player, a note pad, a camera, etc., smartphones promised to replace all of that and be the only thing you needed to bring with you. Funny but, at least for many of us, that hasn’t happened. Sure, my iPhone DOES replace all those aforementioned items, but along with my iPhone I now carry an iPad, a Bluetooth headset and, at times, a second phone. And in order to keep them all…

Why I Hate Compact Florescent Lightbulbs

Editorials

Why I Hate Compact Florescent Lightbulbs

Okay, look:  there’s no question that ordinary incandescent light bulbs are on the way out.  Another few years, and they’re going to be as rare as candles.  I’m okay with that; they’re a 150-year old technology, they put out most of their energy as heat rather than light, they’re inefficient.  With more and more people crowding our poor planet, and more need to make the best of the resources we have, I can dig it.  I’m okay with it. But I’m pretty convinced the CF light bulbs are not the way to go.  Yes, they’re definitely more efficient.  Other than…

Bye-Bye, Spotify

News

Bye-Bye, Spotify

When Spotify finally came to the US I was quick to jump on it. I like using streaming, subscription music services a great deal. I like the flexibility. I love being able to download and listen to pretty much whatever I choose for a small fee each month. Sure, I already have a huge music collection but there’s a ton of music I want to hear that isn’t part of it and there are enough tunes that it would cost me a small fortune to purchase all of them. I tried Rhapsody for a while and while I got hooked…

Star Trek Theme Park Coming Soon!

News

Star Trek Theme Park Coming Soon!

My first vacation with Sarah we went to Las Vegas for a long weekend. Sarah was excited about the shows and the gambling, but all I cared about was going to the STAR TREK EXPERIENCE! My inner Trekkie was very excited, and it’s a credit to Sarah that she stuck with me after watching the extreme geek-out when I saw a guy in a Borg outfit. Sadly, the Star Trek Experience is no longer in Las Vegas, but don’t worry, the King of Jordan has us all covered. From MSNBC: It turns out that King Abdullah II of Jordan is a huge…

The AT&T HTC Status Android Mobile Phone Review

Reviews

The AT&T HTC Status Android Mobile Phone Review

If you are a Facebook junkie who can’t go for even five minutes without checking in, then I may have found the perfect phone for you. HTC recently brought one their two Facebook-integrated phones to the US; somewhere along the way, the device formerly known as the ChaCha became the Status. You may  remember that the ChaCha was the candy-bar style Android phone with full QWERTY keyboard that so impressed me at Mobile World Congress — mainly because its keyboard blew away the one on the BlackBerry Bold I was using while traveling. the phone formerly known as “ChaCha”, shown without its AT&T logo in Barcelona…