2012

Accell DisplayPort/Mini DisplayPort to DVI-D Dual-Link Adapter Review

The older I get the more changes happen to laptops over the years.  It seems like the 15 pin VGA port has been around forever.  That’s why I was surprised that my current laptop does not have a standard VGA port.  This makes it difficult for this laptop to work with many projectors in my workplace.  That’s why I jumped at a chance to check out this adapter when they offered a loaner unit. Some of the key features of this adapter are: Convert to a Mini DisplayPort Connector Using the Enclosed Adapter Up to 10.8Gbps Throughput Over 4 Lanes (330MHz total…


Virgil Guitars Create The Most Elaborate Custom Made Guitars Ever Built!

Looking for an amazing gift for the guitar person in your life? How about an amazing looking guitar that is also designed by and for guitarists? That is what Virgil Guitars is offering. Here is what Virgil Mandanici says about his inspiration: An artist and guitarist since the 1970’s, Virgil Mandanici set out to make guitars that would be exceptional in tone and playability first and foremost. After 35 years of playing guitar, he decided it was time to craft guitars that would feel, play and look better than anything anyone has ever played before – thus Virgil Guitars was…


Ogaco Gadgets Introduces the iKazoo

There are controllers for just about everything that utilize touch, motion, and breath. Now we get one that integrates all of these, and utilizes the latest Bluetooth protocols to interface with just about anything! The first thing you might think when you hear ‘iKazoo’ is … what IS it? Here is an explanation from the creators: iKazoo is basically a gadget compatible with any electronic device with a camera that lets anyone, from beginner to professional make and play music and a whole lot more. Music, games, art, sports and fitness are just some of the applications you can use…


RIP Jazz Pianist Dave Brubeck at 91

Picture of Dave Brubeck from the 1984 JVC Newport Jazz Festival, taken by my friend Jeff. Chances are you know the song ‘Take Five’. You might not immediately call it to mind, but when you check out the video below you are almost certain to say ‘oh yeah, THAT song!’. Congratulations – you have absorbed a lesson on extended harmonies and advanced time signatures! Brubeck was a major figure in jazz and music for several reasons: – He brought jazz to academia at a time when only classical music was studied, and moreover gave students something to think about and…


Are Video Games Art? MoMA Answers with New Exhibit

It’s the question everyone’s asking nowadays: can video games be considered art? Should they be? While it’s been over two years since film-critic Roger Ebert blew up the debate with his now-famous commentary, the fight rages on. This time, it’s New York’s Museum of Modern Art that’s taking a side. In the past, curators and critics alike have been hesitant to put a label on gaming. Pundits of established artistic disciplines were the worst offenders, often heard dismissing the industry in favor of their own respective fields. Ebert’s notorious quote that “video games can never be art” unleashed what has…


Fisheye + Wide Angle (+Macro) + 2X + 9X + 12X Telephoto Lens Combo for iPhone 5

In June of 2011 I reviewed the multi-lens combo kit from USBFever.com for the iPhone4. Then I said that while the kit will not replace your D-SLR and a case full of lenses it is very useful and perfect for the consummate iPhoneographer. I just finished testing the new iPhone5 combo lens kit and I reaffirm those findings with additional good news. In my previous review I recommended throwing away the 8x lens once you receive your kit. Seems someone was listening as that piece has now been replaced with a 9x telephoto lens attachment that is on par with…


Bodyguardz Sentinel and Armor Carbon Fiber Protection for iPad mini Part 1 of 2

I love my iPad mini and I’m honestly a bit surprised. Sure, I was looking forward to having a smaller, lighter iPad option but I really expected the mini to be something that augmented my 9.7″ iPad. Instead, it has effectively replaced it for everything except watching videos. I love reading on it. I find it more than fast enough for productivity. And, quite honestly, when I’m using it I really don’t sense it being substantially smaller. It isn’t and that’s the key. It is thinner and lighter but the screen isn’t THAT much smaller. (Oh, and yes, I do miss…


Release Windows ARE Stupid … But They Don’t Justify Piracy

Most people know of the popular trope called ‘Step Three: Profit’, in which an idea is started, no plan is developed, but there is an expectation of profit in the end. A random example from South Park: Step 1. Collect underpants. Step 2. ? Step 3. PROFIT The reason I bring that up is that in a recent article at MondayNote the author basically makes the point that release windows are stupid. What is a ‘release window’? It is the decision by a company to make their content (movies, TV shows, albums, etc) available at different times in different countries…


Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale Taste Test

Hello again! Kevin here with another Beer Diary taste. Last night I was drinking Balashi, Aruba’s national beer but before we left on vacation I picked out and drank a popular and widely available (including our regular grocery in San Angelo, TX)  brew from Oskar Blues Brewery in Colorado to share. Did I mention The Great American Brew Festival that took place in Denver last October? We were there and it was awesome. Oskar’s was there too. Let’s have a look: The Brewery: Oskar Blues Brewery Lyons Colorado The Beer: Dale’s Pale Ale Color: Reddish orange Head: Excellent head retention with good…


Redrum Dead Diary HD for iPad Review

 Integrate a cool story in a solid gameplay mechanic and I’m hooked. And Hidden Object Puzzle games are the perfect vehicle for a mystery story – you have a scenario laid out, uncover clues gradually while viewing specific scenes from the story, and generally uncover the entire story and solve the mystery. All wrapped up neatly in a two to four hour long game! The story centers around Rose, a young girl who can see and interact with dead people who were killed unjustly. She describes them as her friends, and her insistence on their reality lands her in an…


Living with the Nokia Lumia 920 – The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

A few weeks OK I bought a shiny new Red Nokia Lumia 920.  Generally, I love it, although I am STILL waiting for my wireless charging base to show up.  It’s not perfect, in some ways far from it, but the overall approach the OS takes to delivering apps and services is a good one for the way that I want to work – most of the time.  But the journey has been a little bumpy with things needing some serious attention from Microsoft, Nokia, or both. I have most recently been an iPhone user, and a Lumia 900 (Windows…



Sonos Goes iOS Direct

One of the things I most love about the Libratone Zipp is its ability to play music directly from my iOS and OS X devices. It is a small convenience but one that I have come to truly appreciate. Now Sonos has added some similar functionality. As an email this morning explains… The latest software upgrade helps you play even more music, quickly, in deep, richly textured HiFi sound. Sonos now plays your iTunes® music direct from your iPhone®, iPad®, or iPod touch® anywhere there is a Sonos speaker or player. No more syncing your Apple® mobile device with your…


Is Apple’s Pricing Scheme Hurting Its Profits?

The strategy Apple adopted a couple of years ago of continuing to sell older iPhone models at reduced prices has helped broaden adoption and penetration at the lower end of the market. But another side-effect is that it reduces the average selling price (ASP) of Apple phones, and also the subsidy that they get from carriers. The implication is that this will lower their gross profit margins from the iPhone business, which has been the leading profit generator for the company. All of this is of concern as new research estimates that the iPhone 5 accounts for significantly lower percentage…


Samsung Galaxy Note II from U.S. Cellular Review and Video Hands-On

This is the PDA you would have DIED for in 2002. Last year Samsung introduced the Galaxy Note, which was dubbed a ‘phablet’ – hybrid phone and tablet. To the surprise of many the Galaxy Note sold well, particularly in Asia where the larger screen and stylus allowed for drawing larger characters more easily. Now they are back with the Galaxy Note II, and the folks at US Cellular were kind enough to send me one to test out – let’s take a look! The Hype: With a large, high-definition screen, an intuitive and precise S Pen™, blazing-fast quad-core processor,…


Sleep Better At Night Knowing Skynet Is Being Studied

Any good geek knows that “Terminator” isn’t just a great sci-fi story, but a cautionary tale about computers run amok with too much intelligence. It’s all fun and games until Twitter and Tumblr get ahold of the nuclear codes. Instead of just letting this fear live in the “what if” realm, researchers at the University of Cambridge have formed the “Cambridge Project for Existential Risk”, which is analyzing how to prevent a robot uprising. From their website: Many scientists are concerned that developments in human technology may soon pose new, extinction-level risks to our species as a whole. Such dangers…


I Read Everything on this Hipster Lit Flowchart BEFORE It Was Cool

When the New York Times took on modern hipsters in their article How to Live Without Irony they caused quite a stir for a number of reasons, and the reaction was immediate and extreme (this IS the internet after all!). I leave it to you to peruse the article and determine your thoughts – I am in the midst of reading ‘Retromania’ and certainly have thoughts around creativity in popular art in the current generation, but not so much on the entirety of culture in this regard. Anyway, GoodReads took on creating a literary flowchart for the hipster generation. Check…


Rampant Piracy Causes iOS Developer to Shut Down Online Game

I had been hearing bits of this on gaming forums for the past few days, but today it was confirmed – iOS online game ‘Battle Dungeon’ has been pulled from the App Store and the online servers shut down due to extreme levels of piracy. The developers posted about it at their site and on their Facebook page: Unfortunately we have taken Battle Dungeon down for the forseeable future. This was due to high levels of server load created by large numbers of pirated copies of the game. The high load revealed technical issues which we don’t feel we can…


Is ‘Ugly Scan’ The Worst Idea EVER for an App?

I have two teenage boys who have both male and female friends, so I know that the pressures and mean-ness hasn’t abated through the years but has continued in daily life and also online. Since I keep track of my kids online, I often see them engaged in things such as ‘Like my status for … ‘ or ‘Truth Is …’ or ‘Rating …’ sorts of back and forth with friends. Within their groups of friends, I have never seen anything particularly terrible – and certainly nothing mean-spirited. But from a variety of news articles, tragic suicides as well as…


Princess Kate is Pregnant and The Onion Wastes No Time Chiming In

By now most of the Western world has heard that Princess Kate Middleton is pregnant, as the official announcement was made on December 3rd: Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby. The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news. The Duchess was admitted this afternoon to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. As the pregnancy is in its very early stages,…


Element Case Releases the Ronin FE for the iPhone 5

This is easily the most beautiful iPhone 5 case I’ve seen, and you know how I have a softness for wood. Element Case has just released their new limited edition Ronin, which uses a combination of aluminum and Zircote wood. They’ve based the design on the “clean lines of the “Katana,” or Samurai sword. The Ronin 5 sets new heights in iPhone case technology and style with never before seen details like proprietary micro machined volume/mute mechanism, and near impossible CNC machined details in exotic wood.”   If you’ve never heard of Zircote wood, you’re not alone; I hadn’t, either….