I’m on vacation in Jamaica with my wife Elana, her brother Rob and Rob’s girlfriend, Alison. We had a casual breakfast in our villa this morning after which Rob headed to the beach to read. I lingered a bit too long over my last cup of coffee and, as a result, had the opportunity to [...]
RokForm RokShield V3 for iPad mini First Look
We met with RokForm at CES 2013 and were impressed by the products they had in the pipeline. In particular I was taken with the wide array of products they planned to release during 2013 for the iPhone, iPad and iPad mini. The RokForm RokShield v3 Case Kit for iPad Mini was the real standout [...]
40 Years Ago We Emerged From the Desert of Disconnect
The Jewish festival of Passover ended earlier this week and with it members of the Jewish community returned to eating leavened products known as chametz in Hebrew. (Most people I know end the holiday with the Jewish delicacy known as pizza.) According to tradition the Exodus from Egypt introduced a 40 year period when the [...]
NBC Promotes Smarter Passwords in “The More You Know” Spot
A few weeks ago, there was a lot of buzz about vulnerabilities in Apple’s security — and as a result they rolled out two-step password verification — I tried to encourage my dad to enroll his Apple ID in it as well as my mom’s. I might as well have been speaking a foreign language, [...]
Another Way iPhone Beats Android – Battery Life in the Dungeon!
We all know that it is an Apple & Samsung world – and pretty much everywhere I go I carry both my Apple iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3. They are both excellent phones, and I highly recommend both of them to anyone looking for a phone – each has strengths and weaknesses, just like [...]
SXSWi New York Times Talk on Gated Content
In which Doug attends a talk by New York Times reporter David Carr (above) on gated content at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) One of the talks that I had really been looking forward to at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi)–as a contributor to an online site as I am–was David Carr’s talk, “Gates of [...]
Apple Lightning Connector Broken Inside iPad Mini Port – Eeek!
Have you wondered how well the new Apple Lightning connector might hold up over time? I’ll admit not giving too much thought to it, because I chose to focus on the fact that I could plug the Apple Lightning Connector in from either side — a welcome new convenience from the old 30-pin. So far, [...]
Amazon Reminds Us Why It Is Such a Great Place to Shop
This weekend my son had a birthday party to attend, but forgot about actually getting a present until Thursday. While he had some ideas he really hadn’t decided, and with the crazy schedule each of us had it just wasn’t clear when he would get to go shopping. At dinner that night we started to [...]
Billboard Joins the 21st Century by Tracking YouTube View Data
While the top videos on MTV and YouTube (recently at least) have generally also been on the pop charts, the amount of popularity from video outlets hasn’t always translated into chart position. So it is great news for breakout video artists this week as Billboard joins the 21st century and starts tracking YouTube view data [...]
Indie Game Anodyne Will Satisfy Your Old-School Zelda Nostalgia
Anodyne, a new downloadable title, is the closest you’ll to come to playing an SNES-era sequel to A Link To The Past. The game was developed by a team of just two developers, and (not to spoil the full review) is pretty damn good. At its core, the title stands as a magnificent tribute to [...]
Jon Wirtz Announces New Album ‘Tourist’ Launching in April
When Jon Wirtz released his debut album ‘Sea Level’ in 2010 I thoroughly enjoyed it, drawing comparisons to such reknowned pianists as Keith Jarrett, Vijay Iyer and Matthew Shipp. The album was a solo piano recording, which is a daring move for a solo debut. Wirtz showed a maturity in terms of expression, interpretation and [...]
Workout Indoors with BodyWeight Exercises – The Monday Mile
Last week I had a day where I planned to go out for a run, but the conditions were too icy, so I was home after about 2.5 miles to avoid possible injury. I already had myself warmed up and wanted to get in a workout, so I did the next best thing – an [...]
Super Bowl Rings on the Brain!
I heard a story the other day, about the time that Robert Kraft (the New England Patriot’s owner) met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and somehow or another Kraft wound up unintentionally giving Putin the Super Bowl Ring he was wearing! Evidently Kraft had removed his Super Bowl Ring to better show it to Putin, and the Russian president took [...]
Get Ready for the Next Chapter with the Star Trek Into Darkness App for iOS or Android
Are you excited for the Star Trek: Into Darkness film opening on May 17th of this year? The teaser trailers have been intriguing and suggested an intensity beyond what the first ‘reboot’ showed us a few years ago. To help fans get ready, a new app for the movie is available for iOS or Android, [...]
Everything You Need to Know About Electrostatic Discharge in One Funny Video
Having worked with electronics through instruments companies or the semiconductor industry most of my professional career, I am keenly aware of the potential impact of a minor static shock on electronics. Static is more technically called ‘electrostatic discharge’ or ESD. From my very first job I was introduced to the concept of grounding straps, anti-stat [...]






















