February 2012

Rumors of MOG Sale Highlight Coming Streaming Music Consolidation

The rumor on CNET that MOG is shopping itself around for possible sale is making news and intrigue with non-denial denials from MOG only increasing the rumblings of truthiness to the tale. But whether or not MOG is for sale is only a small part of a larger story. MOG is considered a ‘small player’ in the on-demand music streaming industry with around 500,000 subscribers paying either $5 or $10 a month. Direct competitors include Rdio with a similar user base – though both of these are estimates and I have no clue if they are remotely accurate. They both…

Reviews

JustMobile Encore for iPad and Other Tablets Review

We’ve become big fans of JustMobile’s offerings. The company has a great way of merging sleek aesthetics with a high degree of functionality. This time out we are taking a look at the JustMobile Encore stand for iPad and other tablets. Let’s take a look.

Music Diary, News

RIP Davy Jones, Lead Singer of The Monkees

For a fake band, The Monkees were a huge success. Formed in 1965 as a TV-friendly pop group with the intent to release singles and offer a weekly comedy show, Brit Davy Jones joined Americans Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz as the fabricated pop group. The requirements were more about look, basic singing skills and personality – in fact none of the group played drums, which became an issue when they needed to perform live! But the face of the Monkees during their 58-episode, 2-season TV run was Davy Jones – to the point that he ended up…

News

Write Android Apps? Write a Samsung Galaxy Note S App and You Could Win $100K!

Are you a savvy Android programmer? Would you like a chance to win some slick prizes? Samsung is offering a huge contest to encourage developers to write applications for its new Galaxy Note S phone using its Galaxy S Pen SDK. Samsung invites software developers to create S Pen-integrated apps for Galaxy Note using the S Pen SDK. Winners will receive $205,000 in cash and prizes as well as promotional exposure and recognition in Samsung digital social media. Prizes will be awarded for the best overall apps and for category honorable mention awards in games, media, sports, social,…

Music Diary, News

Jane’s Addiction Releases a 3D Concert Video of ‘Been Caught Stealing’

Jane’s Addiction had a major hit more than 20 years ago with the song ‘Been Caught Stealing’ which still resonates with kids today. It is edgy, fun and infectious both rhythmically and harmonically. It had an awesomely cheesy music video that helped as well! Last summer the band asked fans to participate in a promotion with LG to film their show using the Thrill 4G 3D camera. Today we get one of the results, a fan film of the classic ‘Been Caught Stealing’. It is a solid rendition, but I always prefer the original music video … enjoy!

News

It Booms. It’s a Box. It’s Waterproof. It’s The Fully Submersable Eco Terra BoomBox

Grace Digital Audio’s Eco Terra Boombox lets you submerges yourself in music while also letting you submerge it in water. That’s right, it is 100% waterproof. The Eco Terra Boombox is shock resistant and waterproof and it even floats. IPX7 waterproof tested, the $149.99 Eco Terra Boombox is the perfect portable music solution for your iPod, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, mp3 player or any smartphone with a 3.5mm headphone jack. The internal waterproof casing houses your music player or smartphone, as well as some extra cash, credit cards, car key or driver’s license. The outside poly-carbonate shell with rubberized impact bumpers,…

eBooks, News

Penguin Books Rips the Carpet out from eBook Library Patrons

It’s no secret that publishers hate library ebooks. Essentially they are everything publishers hate about ebooks in one place; the cost is zero (once you have an ebook reader), and libraries don’t have to replace them due to wear and tear. According to The Verge, Penguin previously pulled all their support for Overdrive-powered library lending, and it looks like any books they are making available have an extra requirement-you must download them to a computer, then sideload them to a Kindle (or NOOK, or Kobo, etc.) It doesn’t sound too terrible until you read this email from a Gear Diary…

Events, News

Intel Gives Developers the Tools to Make Speedy Android Apps

Raw power is irrelevant if the apps running on the device don’t use it efficiently. Intel knows that and is making sure app developers have the tool to not only create great apps but to create great apps that are also highly efficient.

News

Tales from the Apple Store

(image courtesy Macrumors) The other day Judie and I were in Manhattan for the Dell/Intel create work inspired event and we decided that we needed to make a pilgrimage to the Apple Store at Grand Central Station. If you have not been there you should make a point of stopping in the next time you are in Manhattan. The place is amazing. To have such grand open spaces as the terminal and then to have the Apple store fill in the different rooms on the balcony is nothing short of impressive. Traditional grandeur filled with the most innovative new technology –…

Editorials, News

Anti-Smoking Efforts Face Challenges in the Ongoing Down Economy

One of the most popular ways for governments to raise money is through so-called ‘usage taxes’. These fees are levied only on those who do a certain thing or use a certain product, such as gas taxes, liquor taxes, or cigarette taxes. The idea behind those taxes is that there are costs associated with those activities that the state bears, so by collecting the tax those costs are covered. It is similar to the theory that tolls are collected on roads to sustain creation and repair of those and other roads. Most people who live by a budget would understand…

Music Diary, News

Stochastik Gives Us the Probability-Based Drum Pattern Machine for iPad

The term ‘stochastic’ means ‘non-deterministic’, or a process influenced by a random factor or variable. The new Stochastik drum pattern machine takes a weighted random factor approach to pattern generation for the iPad. You are actually setting a probability at each step in the sequence that a sound will trigger. The result is amazingly varied patterns – and you can export the results to GarageBand or other apps. The one thing missing in version 1.0 is MIDI, but that is coming soon according to developers. Here are some details: 15 Samples at a time, arranged in 3 banks of 5…

Events, News

Nokia’s New Offerings “They Are THAT Good”

I spent some time with Nokia’s North American Director of Communications this afternoon, checking out their latest phones.

Events, News

Intel and Visa Look to Make Cash a Thing of the Past

Intel is talking NFC here in Barcelona, and it looks more and more like 2012 will see the breakout of mobile pay via smartphones. In fact, Visa also took to the stage with Intel’s Paul Otellini to discuss a multi-year alliance that will result in Visa PayWave contact-less payment system being part of a variety of Intel powered phones. We’ve discussed whether or not we would want our smartphones to serve as our wallets on the site, but it is looking more and more like this is inevitable. And, thanks to Intel’s work with Visa it looks like it will…

News

The Southern Foodie is a Must-Read Kindle Book

My parents were born and raised in New York. I was born in Summit, New Jersey. I grew up in a little place called Berkeley Heights, NJ. In other words, I am a North Easterner through and through. (Some would use the word “Yankee” to describe me.) Yes, I’m a northerner through and through and am happy to be back living in the Garden State. There was, however, a time when this Yankee lived in the South. Yes, I went to college in North Carolina and I even joined a southern fraternity that was founded on “December 21, 1865, at…

News

A New Way to Watch Star Wars: Machete Order!

I got an email a while ago pointing me to an article from late last year about a new way to watch the Star Wars movies … and was reminded of it when I saw a post at Neatorama. It is quite intriguing and a new way to look at things – though not without flaws of its own. Here is the core premise: Next time you want to introduce someone to Star Wars for the first time, watch the films with them in this order: IV, V, II, III, VI Notice something? Yeah, Episode I is gone. Episodes II…

News, Vehicles & Gear

Disney Unveils The Lion King & Tangled Interactive Apps for iOS!

If you or your kids are fans of the classic Disney movie The Lion King or the recent retelling of Rapunzel called Tangled, you will definitely be interested in checking out these new apps. These interactive apps include original scenes from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ The Lion King (1994) and Tangled (2010), as well as new animation and interactive surprises, and allow kids and adults to experience these stories on their mobile devices, in a whole new way. Here are some details: Disney Publishing Worldwide today unveils two new storybook apps featuring original scenes from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ feature…

Events, News

Intel Goes Mobile at MWC in Barcelona

While the focus has been on Intel’s partnership with various companies on the creation of the new Ultrabook category of laptops here at MWC they are talking about a very different kind of partnership. This time, they are talking about new partnerships that will grow their presence in the exploding worldwide smartphone market. Just one example of this is the Intel/Orange partnership that will see the release of an Intel phone in France and the UK this summer. ZTE will use processors in their smartphones and, India’s Lava will release the XOLO X900 in partnership with Intel as well. Let’s…

Events, Gear Bits

Get Your iBling On With this Gold-Plated iPad

The 64GB 3G iPad runs $830 new. That’s certainly not inexpensive but, at least in my humble opinion, it is worth every penny. But what if you didn’t want your iPad to look like every other iPad and you had money to burn? Judie found the answer in the airport yesterday as she arrived in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress.

Reviews

Eton Axis Self-Powered Radio Review

This past year Sarah and I have been very lucky. While our town did flood, it only necessitated the power being out for around 15 hours. Many of my coworkers and friends north of us had it much worse, with power outages lasting anywhere from 24 hours to 5 days! Unfortunately, the modern world isn’t really conducive to going off-grid. Cell phones need juice, you need access to the news, a clock to see what time it is, and of course, an alarm clock if you plan on heading to work! That’s where having a radio like the Eton Axis…

Events, News

Pictures and Video from the Sony Press Conference on the Xperia Line of Smartphones

Sony had three phones in their Xperia line to show off yesterday. We posted on them at the time and you can get details here. Today we’ve got loads more pictures AND a video from the Sony Press Conference. Let’s start with the Press Conferences video and then you can check out all the pictures in the gallery. Check out the entire gallery of pictures from the Sony Press Conference.

Gear Bits, News

Adobe Brings a Better-Than-Ever Photoshop Touch to the iPad 2

Like many techies, I have been using my iPad for almost 2 years, and if you ask me ‘what do you use it for?’ … I would reply ‘just about everything’. And as of today that is getting enhanced as Adobe is bringing Photoshop Touch to the iPad 2! From their press release: Adobe Photoshop Touch offers core Photoshop features, as well as new capabilities for creating and sharing in an app custom-built for tablets. The app is a central component of Adobe Touch Apps, a family of six intuitive touch screen applications, inspired by Adobe Creative Suite software. iPad…

1 2 3 … 8 »