Aperion Home Audio Link Review
Sometimes you just want to place your speakers in a different spot than your audio source. The Aperion Home Audio Link just might be a option. Let’s see how it works.
February 2010
Pleasantly Waste Time with Onmsoft’s Squaree Puzzle Game
I’m a big fan of puzzle games, especially ones that don’t have a time element involved. (Or preferably don’t require excellent twitch reflexes and small muscle coordination. Glyder is about the fastest-paced game I can handle. I have this neck injury, see . . .) I’ve spent hours playing everything from Scrabble to Myst to Bejeweled. So when Onmsoft came out with a new puzzle game that didn’t have a time element–or at least let you choose a non-time-element option–I wanted to check it out.
The Urbantrim Squidarella Brings Color to a Rainy Day
the dry Squidarella Like much of the country, West Texas has been experiencing a wetter than usual late winter. Rather than snow, we have had rain … nearly 6″ in some parts of my county alone. Due to the weather, I’ve found myself reaching for an umbrella more times in the last couple of weeks than I had in the last few years. And since my umbrella has basically become a regular accessory, I can’t help but wishing that it was as colorful and interesting as this one. Urbantrim has just launched a new collection of color changing umbrellas. “The…
Bookeen Cybook Gen 3 Review
The Cybook Gen 3 is a few years old (it was released in 2007), but about six months ago it received an update allowing it to read Adobe ePUB files, giving it new relevance in an increasingly ePUB focused ebook world. Thomas sent me his Cybook to update with the new firmware and review, so let’s take a look! Does it stand up well against my Kindle? Is the Cybook worth the $350 Bookeen lists it for? Read on and find out!
Mass Effect 2: Video Game Soundtrack Review
I recently reviewed the full soundtrack for Dragon Age: Origins, and a large part of my criticism was that it wasn’t a great value – it released well after the game was out, and suddenly made folks who paid for a ‘deluxe’ version aware that the ‘Soundtrack’ they got was really a sampler. Now the Mass Effect 2 Soundtrack has arrived, how does this one measure up, both musically and as an overall value?
Review – Danglets iPod Neck & Wrist Strap
Apparently in Japan and some other countries it is very popular to wear your cell phone on a neck strap – especially when using it as a media player. That trend has not hit North America. Now Collins America hopes to make it more popular through the introduction of the Danglet, an accessory that clips into the docking connector of any modern iPod or iPhone device and allows you to keep it readily available around your wrist or neck. So how does it all work?
Amazon Scores Another Exclusive
Looks like Ian McEwan and Stephen Covey have company in the Amazon exclusives club! Gavin De Becker, author of “The Gift of Fear”, has an exclusive with the Kindle Store for one year. This is probably Amazon’s best defense against the agency model that’s all the rage among scared publishers; Amazon guarantees themselves great content, the author gets a raise, and the consumer wins too! And if you don’t know who Gavin de Becker is (I didn’t!), Amazon’s press release has some details: “The nationally bestselling ‘The Gift of Fear’ is a perennial bestseller in its category, and de Becker’s…
Random House Stands Alone With Amazon?
Random House has weighed in on the eBook price wars, and it looks like Macmillan, Hachette and Harper Collins won’t be sending them a fruit basket next Christmas. At the American Bookseller’s Association Winter Institute meeting, Random House made it clear they aren’t interested in pursuing the same “agency model” as their three colleagues. From the Mobileread forums: The only bright spot for Amazon, and Kindle owners, came from Madeline McIntosh, the President of Sales, Operations, and Digital for Random House. She pointed out that publishers “have no real experience at setting retail prices.” She also revelaed that one of…
SplashID for Android Review
We’ve previously reviewed SplashData’s password protection program, SplashID, in various formats and generally given it favorable ratings (here, here, and here). I’ve used it as my standard password protection program for a while now. When I recently acquired a Motorola Droid, in addition to checking out some new, great programs for the Android operating system, I also wanted to see which of my standard programs were available for Android. SplashID, which is also available for iPhone, Windows Mobile, Palm, Series 60, and BlackBerry, is SplashData’s first Android application. The Android version shares a lot with the other platforms, so anyone…
Thinksound Headphones: Green Sounds Good, Really Good
Going green and buying electronics usually don’t mesh very well. Thinksound set out to create great sounding headphones that were also friendly to the environment too. Not an easy task to say the least, but one the company took very seriously. Thinksound‘s lineup currently consists of two eco-friendly headphones. The company was kind enough to send me both to review. Does being “green” mean you have to sacrifice sound quality? Click on through to find out, but here’s a hint, in a word, nope….
AblePlanet True Fidelity with Linx Audio Review
Having done some traveling during December, you start to get used to the accompanying rumble associated with it, be it from passengers waiting for a plane or the sound of an engine a few feet from your ear. The best way to completely drown the world out is with a decent pair of headphones, and if you couple those with noise canceling you are onto a winner. While noise-canceling headphones have typically been a pricey proposition, these new ‘phones from AblePlanet come in at just $129.99, and seem to be pretty good value.
Travel With The booq Taipan Lift
I am reviewing the booq Taipan Lift ($89.95 – $99.95) by using it during my quick trip to San Francisco for TeleNav’s Waypoint. It is a briefcase style laptop bag which, to be quite honest, isn’t my preference. (I tend to like messenger bags and backpacks.) Having just gone through airport security, however, I am totally sold on this bag for travel. There are, in fact, three specific design aspects of it that have already come in rather handy.
3D Rugby Hits England!
I love rugby. I played it in college, and again for a few years as an adult. If you’ve never played, imagine American football merged with soccer. Rugby is extremely fast-paced, with lots of hits and action. Part of that fast pace means sometimes you’re left scrambling trying to follow the game. O2 and Cineworld are riding the 3D craze with a new way to change that; they’re airing England’s national rugby games in theaters in 3D! From the Guardian‘s review, it seems like it was overall a huge success: The international game has long been a geometric business, a…
TextExpander touch Expands App Intergration
It was a little over a week ago that I returned to using the iPhone of full-time. I’m pretty happy with the decision and I’m enjoying having it as the sole device I rely upon. I am still carrying my Blackberry Bold with me but haven’t really used it for more than a few seconds. One of the things I’ve discovered since returning to the iPhone full time is that typing on it seems to be far easier and more accurate than ever for me. I’m not sure why this is so, but it definitely is the case and I’m…
Alternative eBook Sources for Your Kindle, Plus Bonus Book Review!
(image courtesy Motherinchief) I mentioned in my post about Macmillan, Hachette and HarperCollins pushing new agency model pricing on Amazon that there are alternatives outside the Kindle store. Since these aren’t as easy as just “flip on your wireless and go”, I thought I would give a quick rundown on a few of these options, along with how you can have them on your Kindle (or ebook reader of your choice).
Alternate Android App Sources
So you’ve bought an Android tablet, but it doesn’t come with the official marketplace. The manufacturer has a less than stellar collection of apps in a lackluster “app store”, and you’re looking enviously at your friends with their Android phones and their awesome app collections. Luckily for you, there’s more out there than just the official marketplace. As I mentioned when I talked about speeding up your Camangi with an alternate launcher, you can directly install an APK, or app file, right onto your device. You do not need an app store to act as a middleman.
DocuPen X Series- Review
We saw a lot of neat stuff at CES last month. One of the most interesting, at least to my mind, was a small hand-held scanner from PlanOn. At just about 9 inches long and a tiny bit thicker than an iPhone, the DocuPen X05 isn’t cheap… but it’s pretty impressive nonetheless. The company sent me a loaner unit, and I’ve been using it for the past week or so. Despite some frustrations when I initially tried to get it set up, I have been more than a bit “wowed” by this little gadget. Let’s take a look.
Five things I like about the Speck SeeThru Satin Hard Shell for 17″ MacBook Pro, and one thing I don’t
Speck has been covered extensively by Gear Diary, and with good reason – their products are well made, they protect the devices they are meant to hold, and they look great! While at CES I visited the Speck booth, and one of the many things that impressed me was that Speck makes a cover for my 17″ laptop — it seems like accessories for this size are rather rare. Fast forward to last week when I received a SeeThru Satin Hard Shell for my 17″ MacBook Pro, and my laptop has not been naked since. Dan just recently reviewed this…
Titan TTC-G9TZ Notebook Cooler Review
A constant issue with notebook users is heat. There are many products to assist in heat protection. Some of these products are designed for protecting the user’s lap from heat and some for managing the temperature of the notebook. These coolers come in many shapes and sizes, with or without fans and a variety of material. Some are designed to be mobile while others are to be used on a desk and provide an improved typing angle. The folks at Titan Technology Limited recently released a notebook cooler that combines all of these options in one product and provided me…
iGo Review: Stop Vampire Power from Sucking
Vampire power is the power your electronic devices use when they’re turned off. Example: You plug your digital camera into an electrical outlet to re-charge its battery. Once the battery is fully charged the camera keeps taking power from the wall and attempts to give it to the camera’s battery even though it doesn’t need it. iGo‘s new line of green power accessories seek to stop this wasted use of electricity. This is turn should save you money in the form of less power used and a smaller electric bill as a result. While at CES 2010 I met with…
As the wheel turns
With all of the headlines screaming recall, stuck pedals and brake failure, what is a driver supposed to do or think? First, don’t listen to the headlines or the top of the hour teasers as gospel, they are only there to hold your interest. Second, hit the good old internet, but take all commentary with a grain of salt. The flood of information, both good and bad, is sure to have many eyeballs straining, giving curious consumers headaches and more questions than answers. In my local news broadcast this morning the anchor was reading a story about Toyota thinking about…