September 2008

Restoring and Beautifying Photos the Photofiddle Way

One of my favorite hobbies is working on my family’s genealogy; because it was also my uncle’s and grandmother’s hobby before me, I have access to a treasure trove of photographs, historical documents, family charts and other paraphernalia that they and others had collected. What’s not in my personal files is kept at the Angelo State University library in their canvas wrapped on stretchers, where it is easily shared with me and any other interested familial historians. I guess because I have always had such a relatively easy time collecting and accessing some of (what I consider to be) the…


Revolabs xTag Wireless Microphone Review

I’ve been using voice recognition software for a number of years. Back in my Windows days I used Dragon NaturallySpeaking Speaking. I started with Version 8 and the accuracy improved through my use of Version 9.5. (Version 10 has just been released and it promises to be even better!) When I made the move to Mac a little bit over a year ago I went searching for voice recognition software. I found and purchased iListen from MacSpeech. It worked well enough but was a far cry from the power and accuracy of Dragon. A few months ago MacSpeech updated iListen,…



Urbantool Sportholster – extra pockets during workouts

I am in the midst of a 6 month training to complete my first half marathon. When I began my more serious training in the spring I was often faced with a few logistical issues; such as where to put my keys, my phone and iPod? If I was running in my neighborhood the keys weren’t an issue, but I often travel to different parks and cities to keep me from getting bored and give me a good reason to see places I have not seen before. I have tried “hiding” my key on my tire, tying it to my…


MOO Business Cards: MOO MiniCards Grow Up

Remember when MOO MiniCards hit the scene in late 2006? Everyone on the internet thought they were the cutest thing since…I don’t know what, and many of us ordered sets to keep, trade, or even use as business cards. The deal was that you could access your Flickr account and use up to 100 different photos to decorate the back of each custom card, although another option was that you could also go with just a single favorite photo or multiples of different photos. The front could hold traditional business card information, although you certainly didn’t have to be so…


We take the iStik magnetic 3G Nano case out for 26 miles of road testing

When the people from iStik contacted us to test a new magnetic iPod Nano cases I was intrigued. They claim it holds your Nano tightly to your clothes via a set of four magnets that attach through your clothing. I was a little skeptical. Would these magnets really hold an iPod Nano 3G with all the jolting that occurs during a run? Even worse, if the magnets didn’t hold the case – you’d be left carrying an iPod during a lengthy exercise session. Since I’m not a runner, I had to rely on two eager volunteers. First up – my…


Brunton Solaris 26 Foldable Solar Array and Solo Portable Power Pack Review: Al Gore Will Love You for This One

With all the news lately about the price of oil, and our oil addiction, it is nice to be able to do a review that not only involves a very cool piece of technology, but is also environmentally conscious.  I actually got the idea for a review like this one a few months back when I was having trouble with my laptop battery.  Wouldn’t it be great, I thought, if I could just slap a solar cell on my laptop and continually charge my battery with the power of the sun.  Of course, it was not that easy, but the…


Review- CellRanger Redux From “Signal-Challenged” NJ

I used to love watching late night commercials. You know the ones where the product was too good to be true at a too low to believe price. “It dices, it slices and it will stay sharp for one thousand years or your money back! Order now and we’ll throw in five more sets at no additional cost. All this for the low price of just $7.99” or “The Weblo Cooker makes a five course meal in just three minutes! That’s right, from freezer to table in minutes AND the meal will rival the finest restaurant. Best of all is…