2010

Relive Your First Love with a Classic Car Shelf

My first car, the one that I actually picked out and paid for on my own, was NOT a 1969 Corvette. It was a 1981 Toyota Celica Supra, back when they were still Celica Supras. It had a sunroof which leaked when it rained, and it was the most god-awful maroon. It didn’t matter; I loved that car. Evidently the Celica Supra wasn’t a cool enough (or American enough) car to be made available as one of the Classic Car Shelf Collection from Gadgets & Gear, but I suppose I’m not really surprised. Because the others that have been replicated…

Reviews

OtterBox Impact Series iPhone 4 Case Review

No matter what level of protection you need for your iPhone 4 OtterBox has you covered. The company realizes that all iPhone users are different and use their phones in different environments. It’s because of this that they offer three different levels of protective cases for the iPhone 4. Their Defender series offers the maximum amount, followed by the Commuter which offers a mid-range level of protection followed by the case we’ll look at today, the Impact series. The Impact series case is a slim fitting, silicone based case that is meant to protect your device from life’s bumps, scratches…

News & Features

iPhone App Quick Look: Haunted Face

Whenever I see my friend Meni, he always has a neat app or two to show me. This time the app was just in time for Halloween. There isn’t much to say about Haunted Face. For $.99 is lets you either take a new picture or choose one from your photo library, crop it, process it and… well you’ll see in a second. The processing happens on external servers so you need an Internet connection. In addition, while you can email an image from the video it creates you cannot email the actual moving image. Still, for $.99 is is…

News & Features

Random Cool Image: Assembly Instructions ala M.C. Escher

I have long been a fan of the work of artist M. C. Escher. I love his realistic-looking structures that seem utterly plausible … until you look closer and see the impossibility. Well, what if he had designed assembly instructions? That is what an image adafruit suggests, as it shows some Mobius-strip inspired figured attempting to join into a single seemingly simple mechanism. The actual author isn’t specified … but it is a fun drawing in the style of Escher. Checking into it I found other versions floating around, including one with Dutch ‘assembly instructions’, and this one which was…

News & Features

Stop. Think. Connect: Reminding Kids to Stay Safe While Online

Parents with kids who are growing up in this internet age have undoubtedly got more to worry about than parents even five years ago. It is imperative that our younglings understand that anything posted on the internet (even if only briefly) can come back to haunt the poster (or the postee) forever. Vicious gossip, bullying, hurtful photos … these are things that can be magnified to unbearable proportions when posted online. I found this cute video today; it may see simplistic at first, but it’s message is right on. This video was created by EMC Corporation and RSA, its Security…

eBooks, News & Features

eBook Price Comparison Site – Leatherbound.me

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about ebook pricing insanity, citing the high prices of new release books using the newly released Gauntlgrym: Neverwinter Book I by R. A. Salvatore. At the same time I noted how the move to price ebooks at greater than $10 has slowed down my buying: I have definitely balked at buying books I would have bought without thought at $9.99. For example, Bob Woodward’s ‘Obamas Wars’ looked interesting, but the ebook cost $14.99 – basically the same as the $15.00 hardcover. Similarly Company Town, looking at industries that have become wrapped around a…

News & Features

Teach Me Sushi for iPhone Sounds Tasty

I’ve flirted with making my own sushi, but I can never seem to get my rice just right or my rolls just so. If you are in the same (sushi) boat, then here’s an app that might be able to help. The new app offers helpful tools and over 45 minutes of instructional videos demonstrating how users can make advanced sushi rolls in their own homes. The Expert offering takes the lessons a step further, teaching users to create advanced rolls including Shrimp Tempura, Volcano Rolls and Spicy Crunchy Tuna Rolls. And just like that … I am now craving…

News & Features

SpookyTones Helps Your iPhone Get Its Ghoul On

If you are a fan of both Halloween and customized ringtones for your mobile devices, then what we have here is a bit of convergence for you. If you want to “spookify” your iPhone a bit, point your broom toward Electric Pocket’s space in the iTunes App Store and check out SpookyTones, a Halloween version of its MailTones app. SpookyTones allows you to assign distinct, frightening tones to your contacts, and then, rather than the traditional, boring email alert, your iPhone cackles, thumps, or rattles its chains. Prefer giving the ghouls the silent treatment? SpookyTones will also let you set certain…

Game Diary, Reviews

PC/XBOX360/PS3 Game Review: Alpha Protocol

What the HECK took me so long to get my review of Alpha Protocol done? Didn’t I mention months ago having finished the game? Didn’t I later say I was going back and replaying again … and haven’t some months ensued since THAT as well? It is all true, and since then I have gone back again, looking to reduce the ‘two minds’ I have about so much of this game into a coherent review … you’ll have to read on to find out how I did! The Hype: The year is 2009. Worldwide political tensions are at a breaking…

Reviews

All New Powermat Wireless Charging System for the iPhone 4 Review

Powermat was first to bring wireless charging to the iPhone. I was admittedly not a huge fan of their first generation design for the iPhone 3G/3Gs. The large back plate just didn’t look good. Dan had a chance to review the first generation system just about a year ago and came to a similar conclusion. The company is readying their iPhone 4 second generation release and I had a chance to preview it. Boy how things have changed. The new iPhone 4 Powermat is a world away from its predecessor. Small, sleek and thin, the new version is a site to see….

Game Diary, Reviews

Nintendo DS Game Review: Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City

There are some who would have you believe that all of the games for the Nintendo DS are either casual puzzle games, shovelware (bad licensed games) or licensed products such as Pokemon (i.e good shovelware). Since I like neither or those game types and have played and reviewed more than a couple hundred DS games over the last five years, and have a library of over 100 DS games I love to play, it is safe to assume the platform has more to offer. From excellent adventures such as Hotel Dusk to grand strategy games like Advance Wars to the…

eBooks, Editorials

NPR’s Libraries and eBooks Report Highlights eBook Ignorance

The good folks at NPR’s Marketplace did a story on the state of ebooks and libraries the other night. At first I was excited, since it’s great to hear any story about ebooks, especially library programs that tend to fly under the radar. But NPR’s reporting was so horribly, egregiously, painfully inaccurate that I really wonder if they did any research at all. Let’s start with the biggest head-scratcher: Kai Ryssdal: For all that die-hard bibliophiles say they will never ever give up their actual printed books, they may be fighting a losing battle. E-book sales are up 118 percent…

Editorials

Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Commercials: Folks At Home … Is It Me?

Yesterday Microsoft launched Windows Phone 7, the ground-up reboot of the failed Windows Mobile platform. By all accounts the hardware and software look solid and intriguing, with reports of great performance and an interface built around a quick look at lots of information rather than being largely app-centric like iOS and Android. Of course, only time will tell how it will all shake out. In the mean time, Microsoft has released two advertising spots for the new phone OS, one called ‘Really?’ and the other ‘Season of the Witch’. Each of the ads is focused around the tag line: It’s…

News & Features, Travel

Balanzza Intros Mini Luggage Scale to Help Avoid Added Luggage Fees

Airline luggage fees have been on my mind this week ever since I spoke to Scott Jordan about his dealing’s with Delta Sky magazine. (Heck, Scott even announced a new product, the Carry-On Coat to take things to the next level.) The fees for bags and extra weight keep growing and the free allotments keep diminishing. In a travel environment like this it is more important than ever to make sure your luggage doesn’t go over the weight limit. A new product makes it easier than ever. The Balanzza Mini, the lightest digital scale in the market, weighs less than…

Editorials

Product Placement Goes to New Heights (Lows?)

The world looked on when all 33 Chilean miners were brought to the surface safely there was much to celebrate. The world looked on and, for once, it was all good news. How often does THAT happen??? Then I was checking my Twitter feed and I saw this Tweet from Travis… It made me laugh. Then this morning I read on 9to5 Mac (image from there also) that Steve Jobs gave each of the miners an iPod. This was a nice gesture, but I think they would have been even more appreciated during the miners’ 68 days under ground. “So…

Editorials

Windows Phone 7: Too Little Too Late? Or Just In the Nick of Time?

Francis: Monday’s press conference marked the official announcement of Microsoft’s highly anticipated Windows Phone 7. Microsoft has officially been tooting their own horn in the past months about their new phone OS and hardware, claiming that this is the new vision of Microsoft Mobile devices. Judie: The dust is finally starting to settle, and now we’ve had a chance to digest the information which came … as well as a chance to formulate some questions. Make no mistake about it, Microsoft needed a new vision for their mobile devices. The company, which for a time enjoyed their position as a…

Reviews

Flick Fishing for iPhone/Touch Review

I recently took my oldest son fishing with a buddy and his daughter. This was not his first time fishing, but it was definitely our most fruitful adventure. The kids were catching perch and bass as fast as we could get the bait wet and they were having a blast. Luckily, we hooked onto a couple of larger bass and Peyton had to learn to fight and real a fish that could really fight. Being the geek that I have made him, he asked if there was a fishing game on the iPhone on our way home. We decided to…

Reviews

Review: Sandisk Sansa Fuze+ Media Player

Sandisk has long produced the Fuze line of mp3 players and while they aren’t nearly as popular as Apple’s products, they do indeed have a following within certain communities. Since Sandisk has long had compatibility with open codecs such as Ogg Vorbis , the Linux and Open Source community loves them. Many of my friends have them and I purchased the last generation Fuze for my wife. I was impressed with what Sandisk had done with the device as well as with its price. Sandisk was nice enough to send me the new Fuze+ to review. Did it improve upon the…

Reviews

6X Telescope with Crystal Case for iPhone 4 Review

The addition of zoom functionality to the iPhone’s camera was welcomed when it was finally released. Although it’s now possible to zoom in on your subject when shooting pictures with the iPhone’s camera the distance you can close is somewhat limited. This 6X telescope with case for the iPhone 4 from USBfever.com solves that problem big time. With a 6 times zoom you’ll be able to shoot subjects that you can barely see with your naked eye. It’s literally like sticking a pair of binoculars on the end of your iPhone. Inside the box you’ll find the case, lens, cleaning…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

2011 Kia Sportage: I like you fine, thanks

I really don’t know much about those sock puppets featured in the new Kia Sportage commercials and I am no expert in marketing but I do know a good thing when I see one, and the completely new-for-2011 Sportage compact CUV is a good thing. I recognize the Kia marketing team’s efforts and believe they have done wonders for the brand. That is not to take away from designers and engineers at the automaker, though, far from it. A clever commercial or two on national television is still not going to insure corporate success if the product does not stand…

Editorials, Game Diary

Is Gaming REALLY Cheaper Than Ever?

Image courtesy of ArsTechnica Many times I have mentioned that games today are relatively cheap – especially in light of my memory of paying $60 for a Sega Genesis game for my brother-in-law nearly 25 years ago! And that is exactly the point of a new article at ArsTechnica, which calls it an ‘inconvenient truth’ that game prices have actually fallen over time. From the article: During one of our discussions on the issue of game pricing, we tracked down a press release putting the suggested retail price of both Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 at $69.99. Halpin says that…

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