Facebook Home App Arrives on Google Play, Hands-On First Look

We have been hearing about Facebook Home since the Facebook event last Wednesday which we covered here. The general consensus was that Home was pretty much just another launcher – but a Facebook centric one. Now as the Facebook Home app arrives on Google Play, we have installed it and taken a quick look. The big question from the post we had about the event is ‘who cares’? In other words, exactly what market does this app serve? I always thought that was obvious but had two angles – it serves the Facebook crowd, and pretty much does NOT serve…

Editorials

Who Has Your Digital Back in an Emergency?

This past weekend my brother had a massive heart attack, and while he is now stable he has a long road ahead of him. Right after it happened he was treated – it was amazingly fortunate that it happened in a gym with a doctor next to him and a nurse on staff! It is a symptom of our far-flung society that aside from his ex-wife and high school daughter, I am the closest one in terms of distance – and I live nearly FOUR HOURS away! In situations like this it is worth asking who has your digital back…

Game Diary, Reviews

Art Mogul for Mac Review

Art Mogul puts you in the role of an art collector seeking to maximize your collection and your profits, traveling the world visiting galleries; getting the best price and rooting out fakes along the way. At its core Art Mogul is a hidden object game, but it plays almost like a simulation game in some ways. Your goal is to make the most money to build your art collection value. You start off going to a gallery with some money, where you can purchase a painting that is guaranteed to be authentic. But you want to drive down the price,…

Gear Bits

The Origin of the Term ‘Ham Radio’

I hope you have been enjoying my posts on Amateur Radio. Other than mobile tech and the typical tech stuff I am into, it is one of my most favorite things to do in the evening. Nothing beats chatting with a group of fellow hams about amateur radio itself, the tech behind it, or other things that are related. As you may have noticed, I use the terms amateur radio and ham radio pretty interchangeably. They are indeed one and the same; there’s no difference. However, one might wonder how the term ham radio come about? Well, according to the ARRL, the…

Music Diary, Reviews

Kris Davis Capricorn Climber Review

For all of the grand debate about ‘music discovery’ going on with regards to services such as Slacker and Spotify right now, I continue to have success with the same method I have been using for decades. I find an artist I like, note sidemen I like from their recordings or find recordings where they are sidemen, and check those out. Sometimes that leads to me discovering a sideman from an artist two or three times removed from the original person – such as Kris Davis. Davis plays piano on Ingrid Laubrock’s Anti-House, whose new release I wrote about here….

News

The Scosche boomBOTTLE Is a Ruggedized Portable Speaker for Tunes on the Go

We’ve reviewed a host of different Bluetooth speakers but never one quite like this. The Scosche boomBOTTLE is a new mobile speaker that is ideal for streaming music while biking, hiking, camping and more. The boomBOTTLE not only has a unique design, but it has the features to match. A durable non-slip, shock absorbing TPU exterior is strong enough to withstand drops or vibrations caused from rough terrain, which makes it perfect for biking. An IP4X rated weatherproof construction means you can use the boomBOTTLE even when it is wet outside. The boomBOTTLE even features sealed dustproof speaker grills. The…

How to Do It Yourself!

Tiny Tiny RSS: DIY Android Google Reader Replacement

I am still lamenting the decision Google made to kill off Google Reader. While I am generally ok with Feedly, I am actually in the same boat I was with Google Reader when I use another service like Feedly. If Feedly goes away, then I am stuck yet again. So I began searching for other alternatives and had a friend suggest something called Tiny Tiny RSS. Tiny Tiny RSS has all of the features Google Reader has and more. Tiny Tiny RSS Web Interface The web interface looks a lot like Google Reader. It lets me star things for later, and…

News

Packing Light for Telenav’s Waypoint

I’m heading to Telenav’s annual Waypoint conference next week. Since this is a fairly short trip, I’m looking to keep my baggage fairly light. I’d like to minimize my time lugging items around the airport, and with some careful planning, I think I can cut way back on my tendency to turn every trip into “my backpack is a mobile Radio Shack.” What’s on my packing list? Read on…

News

Startech Flash Drive Duplicator and Eraser

As we move to a virtually paperless society, sharing digital files becomes an issue. While there are many avenues to exchange files in a large setting, many businesses do not prefer to email or share the files over servers for fear of being stolen or damaged. Giving the files on a flash drive insures control until it reaches the end-user. Startech.com has introduced a device to make duplicating flash drives or erasing them a snap, which means no more watching files copy from a computer over and over. I once wondered how companies that pass out large numbers of flash…

News

Slickwraps Add Colorful Skins to Your New Pebble Watch

The other day I received my Kickstarter Pebble Watch in the mail, and I was excited as you might imagine. However, as I began to use it, I quickly noticed how well the device face ergonomics might lend itself to skinning and screen protection. As it turns out, Slickwraps.com has released attractive skins to do just that with their Wraps for the Pebble Watch. Now Pebble Watch owners can choose one of 38 skins to customize their Pebbles the way they want. The skins boast an accurate Pebble face template, and cover not only the periphery around the watch face but…

News

Gtech AirRAM Vacuum Cleaner Is Light, Clean, Cordless, and Longer Lasting

Yesterday I wandered the aisles at the San Angelo Sam’s Club, and I couldn’t help but stop in front of the Dyson vacuum cleaner display. I really hate our current vacuum cleaner — a traditional heavy upright with hose that must weigh at least 25 pounds. The least expensive Dyson was around $359, but it was a low to the ground canister model. I prefer uprights, and the one I was particularly interested in was the Dyson Animal Upright. It’s a 7 pounds cordless model that is supposed to have excellent sucking power for cleaning both carpets and floors. I…

Reviews

MiPow Boom mini Bluetooth Speaker Review

I will admit to having gone into my review of the MiPow Boom and MiPow Boom mini Bluetooth speakers positively inclined toward both products. After all, when Judie and I met with Brian Holmes, vice president and general manager of MiPow, back at CES in January we were immediately impressed by the attention to quality and detail the company put into their mobile accessories. During our meeting we got to check out their range of external batteries and liked what we saw. We learned about their Bluetooth headsets and were anxious to try them out. And, at the end of CES, we…

Vehicles & Gear

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Finally Earns ‘Thumbs Up’ UPDATED

It has been a few years since a Ford F-150 Raptor has graced our test driveway, and in that time the model has seen a few enhancements to what is already a ‘roided-up version of Ford’s best-selling vehicle in North America. While the SVT Raptor is basically a Baja truck with NHTSA safety equipment and license plates, Ford includes its full complement of creature comforts as well. Thankfully that now allows for a SuperCrew cab variant and the beefier 411hp 6.2-liter V-8 engine mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox. This tradeoff is fuel economy of course, and in 4×2 mode…

News

RepeaterBook for Android App Review

Way back when I was first licensed in 1993 to use a HAM Radio, the first thing I wanted to do was to get on the 2m band and hop on a local repeater. How did I find them back then? Well I went to the local radio store and bought the latest edition of the ARRL Repeater Book. In fact, the ARRL still publishes this book, and it’s only $10.95. Once I got the book, I had to dig through it to find my county and city; then I had to plug in all the repeaters into my radio….

Travel

Discovering Jamaica’s Dunn’s River Falls

My family and I are here in Jamaica, mon — enjoying the sun, the warmth and the beauty of this lush tropical island. Yesterday we ate breakfast and then set out for a trip to Dunn’s River Falls – about 45 minutes from our villa. Dunn’s River Falls is in an area the Spanish called “Las Chorreras”, or “the waterfalls or the springs”. Over time “Las Chorreras” became “Ocho Rios” or “eight rivers”. This despite the fact that there are just four, rather than eight, rivers here. Those four rivers are Cave River, Roaring River, Turtle River and of course Dunn’s River….

eBooks

Barnes & Noble Has Forgotten What Makes the NOOK Interesting

Hey, want to buy a NOOK? Barnes & Noble would very much like it if you did. That’s not surprising — they’re fighting hard for marketshare in an increasingly crowded market. But hot on the heels of their “buy a tablet, get an eBook reader!” bizarre promotion, they’ve been reminding everyone of another reason to buy a NOOK: They’ll pay you in NOOK credits. Essentially, they want to handcuff you to the NOOK ecosystem one way or another! But are there better ways to market the NOOK family of products? First, let’s look at the promotions. If you want an…

News

G-Technology’s New G-DOCK and G-DRIVE Offer Speed, Versatility and Flexibility

Like you, much of my life is digital. That includes documents, pictures, music and video. Those files are precious… and increasingly larger and larger. Seriously, one video for a Gear Diary post can be a gigabyte and a half before I even begin to process it. It adds up … quickly. In addition, protecting that data is more important than ever, so having the ability to move files from one location to another is too. And when your files are huge and your file transfer rate is slow, it means only one thing — wasted time. G-Technology is looking to…

News

The Lifesaver Bottle Is the Filtered Water Bottle That the World Needs

The problem with most consumer filtered water bottles is the fact that they are really only good for everyday uses; like removing Chlorine, Lead, Mercury, etc, and making the already mostly safe water taste a little better. You would not want to trust those bottles to keep yourself safe while out for a hike without access to clean, trustworthy water. I use a filtered water bottle every day at work in order to improve the taste of the tap water and to cut down on the amount of plastic water bottles I use. The Lifesaver Bottle takes a whole new,…

Reviews

AKG K391 NC Noise Cancelling Headphones Review

In an ever-more crowded market filled with noise cancelling headphones, it can be a challenge to find the right balance of noise cancellation, comfort and audio quality. I was so impressed with the sound and comfort of the AKG K551 over-the-Ear headphones I reviewed recently (read the review), that I wanted to check out a pair of their noise cancelling offerings. They were kind enough to send a pair of the AKG K391 Noise Cancelling Headphones for review, and my first impressions are excellent. The AKG K391 NC Noise Cancelling Headphones have an MSRP of $249.99, but they are widely…

Travel

Dunn’s River Falls Survival Gear

Dunn’s River Falls is awesome, and it is a visit I encourage anyone going to Jamaica to make. There was some gear that made the trip even better, and I thought I might share some of the items; so here’s a rundown of my Dunn’s River Falls Survival Gear. Dunn’s River Falls Survival Gear #1: Vibram Five Fingers I wanted to make sure I could run while here in Jamaica, but I also wanted to pack lightly. That’s why, when all was said and done, I brought my Vibram Five Fingers shoes. They are great for running, but they are…

Vehicles & Gear

2013 BMW X1 Sport Activity Vehicle Bleeds 3-series DNA

BMW is a marque used by many automotive journalists as their “industry standard.” While I do not agree with many of my colleagues across the board on this, for me the X3 crossover from Bavaria is at the top of its game so there was much anticipation when the automaker brought its newest cute ute to the states in the form of the X1 Sport Activity Vehicle (BMW-speak for crossover utility vehicle). The 2013 BMW X1 is based on the 3-series automobile platform and offers many of the same creature comforts and attributes of the sedan and coupe models albeit with…

April 2013