Gear Chat 2012 Episode 2, Tablets, Apps and Games… Oh My!!
We’re back with the next edition of Gear Chat. This time out Mike is bringing us some gaming news and Thomas and I talk tablets, apps and iPad 3.
February 2012
RIP Whitney Houston, One of the Truly Great Voices of Popular Music
Yesterday we heard about the death of Whitney Houston, one of the all-time best selling female vocalists. She was extremely popular from the mid-80’s through the 90’s, but more than that she brought to the stage a voice that ranks her among the great all-time vocalists in popular music. Here is a bit from the news item: Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music’s queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48. Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer…
Sena Messenger Bag for Tablets Video Review
I carry my iPad with me pretty much all the time. And, increasingly I find myself carrying ONLY my iPad and my smartphone during the day. I don’t carry my laptop. I don’t carry a pen or even my Livescribe Echo SmartPen. I don’t even carry an external keyboard for the iPad. And if I am going to go light I might as well carry a small, light bag. I’ve been on the hunt for something small and light that also had some style to it. So when I saw the Messenger Bag for Tablets on Sena’s website I took…
Virtual City for the Kindle Fire Review
A while agoI reviewed the iPhone and iPad versions of Virtual City, noting that my only real complaint was the lack of a sandbox mode – and the high initial price of the iPad version (which has been lowered). The game already took advantage of the high resolution Retina display which made it shine on the iPad, so my assumption was that there would be a minimal difference in the move to the Kindle Fire. Turns out I was right … and wrong. Read on to find out what I mean. The Hype: Build a city of your dream –…
Is the iPad 3 in Your Future? A Gear Chat
Yes, it is that time of year. The annual iPad announcement and release is likely on the way and, with it, the flurry of rumors are in full force. Moreover, as we have seen in recent year, these rumors are often accompanied by slightly blurry spy shots of various components. We saw a supposed back plate for the iPad 3 and today the supposed hi-res display has emerged. We do our best to stay away from rumor and innuendo (although sometimes we just can’t resist) but that does not mean we aren’t thinking about what we want in the iPad…
Journey Greatest Hits, Volume 2 Review
Journey – Greatest Hits, Volume 2 When you look at some of the best ‘greatest hits’ collections, it is hard to think about augmenting them by going back to the same well a second time. The Beatles 62-66 and 67-70 are complete enough that a second set would feel superfluous, the same is true with the Rolling Stones Hot Rocks, The Eagle’s Greatest Hits and so on. Journey’s Greatest Hits is one of the top-selling collections of all time, posting more than 25 million albums sold through the years. Now we get Volume 2 of the greatest hits, encompassing basically…
There’s an App for That, the Adele Version
As Mike recently pointed out, Adele is a phenomena who popularity exploded this year because… she has a great voice and the songs are great! She’s had a rough time lately however thanks to throat surgery and a silent recovery. After a polyp was removed Adele was told not to speak for a month. According to an upcoming interview on 60 Minutes, Adele, who loves to talk, found the silence more difficult than the actual surgery. Fortunately for her she lives in the era of smartphone apps. As she explained, I had an application on my phone that you type…
Appy Award Nominations Deadline Extended to February 17
Show some love for your favorite apps by nominating and voting for their glory in the 2012 Appy Awards by February 17th.
A Real Time With Bill Maher Oops Moment
Tonight on Bill Maher’s Real Time program on HBO he did a cute shtick with Siri and Valentines Day. (The bit talked about gifts for certain kinds of favors and the cynical aspects of the V-Day and was a bit amusing.) Apparently Maher doesn’t actually use an iPhone because… It was upside down. (Just look at where the print is.) “Siri, is everything alright?” “Bill, would you please stop holding me upside down? I’m getting dizzy.”
AT&T Set to Double Their Upgrade Fee to $36?
AT&T is reportedly slated to increase their device upgrade costs from $18 to $36 this coming Sunday, February 12. Because the overall costs associated with upgrading to a new device have increased, effective Sunday, February 12, 2012, AT&T will change its upgrade fee from $18 to $36 Just my luck. I’m due for an upgrade, and I’ve been chomping at the bit to try a Windows phone, as evidenced by Dan and Judie’s saga of their HTC Titan usage. Speaking for myself, it’s just unfortunate that by the time I want to try out the Titan II or the Nokia…
Check Out this Awesome Recreation of the Original Star Tours Disney Ride!
Have you ever taken a ride on Star Tours at Disney? The first time we went as a family in 2001 was on a Star Wars Weekend, and taking the Star Tours ride was a major part of the fun for all of us. We rode it again the other two trips we made, and it possesses great memories, although it is clear that it is time for a revamp. This year the ride gets that revamp – but an independent film maker has recreated the entire ride in a 2D and 3D video experience! Here are some details: In…
Special Enquity Detail – The Hand that Feeds for Kindle Fire Review
Mix together a crime-drama mystery, puzzles, hidden objects, and tons of twists and turns and intrigue … and you have the makings of one of the most compelling casual games made this year. The name of that game is “Special Enquiry Detail: The Hand that Feeds” from G5 Entertainment, and I reviewed the iPad release earlier this year. Now it is available for Android! Let’s take a look and see how the port stands up to the original release!
Vinyl Re-Visions: The Art Ensemble of Chicago – Reese and the Smooth Ones (Jazz, 1969)
Art Ensemble Of Chicago – Reese And The Smooth Ones When I first thought about doing a ‘Vinyl Revisions’ series, there were three records that came to mind: Anthony Braxton’s Five Pieces 1975, Steve Lacy’s The Wire, and this record. As mentioned in a comment on my Braxton review, that music was compiled in 2008 on the Complete Arista Recordings as a digital release. This record was briefly available in 2002 on Get Back Records as a CD release but has otherwise been out of print – even though Amazon claims a 2009 re-release on vinyl, it has been ‘out…
Vonage’s New Mobile App is Easy to Use, and It Saves You Money
This is a sponsored post, all opinions here-in are mine. Make Calls, Save Money As crazy as it sounds, there are still people in the world who use their iPhones and Android handsets to … make voice calls. I know, Crazy! Right? If you are one of them, and, especially, if you travel internationally, the cost of those calls can add up quickly. Vonage has been around for quite some time, but they’ve just released a new iPhone and Android calling application that is pretty impressive. I’m already using it for calls when I’m in a WiFi network; although the…
Sena Creativo Pouch for the iPhone 4S review
I have never been a huge fan of smartphone pouches preferring, instead, cases that protect the device full-time. After all, at the moment you pull a phone from its pouch you remove it from its protective enclosure and suddenly face the possibility that the now-exposed device will tumble to the ground. Kind of defeats the purpose doesn’t it? But what if you had a pouch that was (a) so nice you wanted to find a way to use it and (b) was designed in such a manner as to reduce the frequency of having to remove the phone in the…
From Evernote Hello to Evernote, Hell No!!
Update #2 by Dan: We reached out to Evernote CEO Phil Libin to bring this to his attention. He let us know that the feature is supposed to be off by default when you add a person manually AND, if you change the settings the app is supposed to remember the settings. Currently it is on by default aND it doesn’t remember changed settings but that is a bug that will be addressed ASAP. That’s great news. I also hope Evernote will highlight this functionality in the future so people know it is there in the first place. Update #1 by Judie:…
Reflections on the Music Industry in 2011
Over the last couple of weeks details about the music industry results for 2011 have been trickling in, and at this point I figured it was time to share a few interesting (to me, anyway) tidbits … and then discuss them in more detail. Here’s one of the points that I think is really important that also really makes me smile: I am enjoying watching the industry rush to get behind Adele (or more to the point, jump on her bandwagon), while in reality they were never rooting for her. Her album didn’t have huge marketing, and took off thanks…
Checking Out Windows Phone Speed, Apps, Camera, Music Player and Games
Judie: Our saga began when Dan and I received HTC Titans at a Microsoft sponsored dinner while attending CES; it’s hard to believe that on the 11th it will have been one month ago. You can catch up on our previous posts before starting with this one by clicking the following links: Considering the Move from an iPhone 4S to Windows Phone Titan Comparing the iPhone 4s Hardware to the HTC Titan and Dipping into the Windows Phone User Interface In that month, my iPhone has never left my gadget drawer. Although I can think of a few times I…
Adobe Premiere Elements 10 & Photoshop Elements 10 Review
If you use a Mac, then you probably use iPhoto for basic image editing and iMovie for basic video editing. But what if you use a PC? The tools included there are not nearly as capable, friendly or integrated. And what if you want to go further than the basic editing capabilities of the iTools? That is where Adobe Premiere Elements 10 & Photoshop Elements 10 come in – offering integrated photo and video editing and production tools for both OS X and Windows 7. The folks at Adobe sent me a review copy, so let’s take a look!
‘Godzilla’ Terrorizes City Streets: Mothra and Rodan Flee in Fear
Quick, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I say “Godzilla?” For most it is the star of childhood monster movies that feature horrible voice-dubbing. For the true auto enthusiast it means one thing – Nissan GT-R. I took delivery of a 2012 GT-R for Super Bowl weekend and despite a few little things, this is one SUPER car. GT-R is the North American version of the Skyline GT-R, Nissan’s answer to the likes of Porsche 911 and Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and ZR-1. The 2012 model GT-R generates a modest 530 horsepower and 448 lb. ft. of…
Sony Finds One Last Way to Screw US PSP Owners
They say that if you want to learn something about a person take a look at how they treat people they DON’T have to be nice to – you know, anyone from kids to animals to waiters and store clerks. If a person treats them poorly without reason they are, quite simply, a lousy person. And you can only expect to receive the same down the line. On the other hand, if they treat you AND others well, you have a partner you can count on. I can hear you saying ‘what is it NOW, Anderson? What are you griping…