March 2011

Ford F-450 Super Duty Lets the Good Times Roll (and Roll and Roll)

Every time I write about pickup (trucks) I mention Texas being the No. 1 market in the world. And every time I write about Ford pickups I mention their market domination (Ford has led in pickup sales for 34 years straight now). And every year about this time, this top market is inundated with television and print advertising announcing some sort of “truck month” promotional campaign. And this year is no different. What is different is that fuel prices are skyrocketing at a record pace and may potentially threaten truck sales even while pickup manufacturers have been working to produce…

eBooks, Gear Bits

Andy Rooney Rants About eBooks

Apparently, Andy Rooney is not a fan of Kindles and NOOKs. His 60 Minutes rant this past week was all about ebooks. I really hate to say this about Andy Rooney, but he really missed the mark big time. He expressed surprise that paperbacks are being outsold by ebooks, and seemed wholly perplexed by the concept that an eBook reader holds 3,000+ titles. At one point he touches upon one of his books being free, though he doesn’t explain if he’s mad about piracy, or if it was some sort of “freebie” deal organized by his publisher. Sadly, the germ…

Editorials

Has Technology Made Us Obnoxious or ‘Fun’?

The roll of smartphone users is increasing exponentially, and perhaps not surprisingly the amount of people ignoring what used to be common courtesy has also increased. What I DO find intriguing is that it is extremely likely that many folks who complained about people speaking loudly on cell phones years ago are now doing exactly that themselves! From a Yahoo report of a Reuters survey: “The poll of 2,000 adults revealed that most U.S. adults wished people practised better mobile etiquette and found the lack of cellphone manners extremely annoying, even though about 20 percent admitted to poor etiquette themselves….

Reviews

iPhone Lens Review: 12x Zoom, Macro, Fish Eye Lenses From USB Fever

I am a firm believer in the idea that the best camera is the one you have in hand. With that said, I love my DSLR but often find myself taking more images with my iPhone 4. I have always been intrigued, with companies who offer add-on lenses for the phone. USB Fever recently gave me an opportunity to check out one of their lens kits. With all of the editing applications available, being able to use detachable lenses along with those solutions opens iPhone photography wide open. Let’s take a look at the lenses followed by some sample images….

News

The Phosphor Appear Watch Combines Retro Bling with Cool Tech

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around how a watch that “[miniaturizes] the “flip-dot” technology found in bus signs and train depots” works, because it just seems so fantastically futuristic and yet so retro at the same time. What I do know is that Phosphor, the company behind the intriguing eInk watches we previously reviewed, has just released a big, bold and more than a little bit blingy watch that appeals to me on several levels. I like watching the crystals flip over to show the time, the seconds, or nothing at all in these .gif’s, so I can…

Reviews

Review: Audio Transmitter Cable for iPhone/iPad/iPod

Both of our vehicles are a bit older and don’t come with the newest audio gadgets. When I travel, I usually plug into the aux jack of either my wife’s or my stereo to listen to my geek podcasts. Of course, while we drive, I use the opportunity to charge my iPhone. So, basically, I have a car charger plugged into the iPhone port in the bottom of the phone and an audio cord plugged into the headphone jack. The audio is great and the phone stays charged but there is a few problems with this set up. First, to…

eBooks

European Union Investigating eBook Pricing

It’s a safe bet that if you aren’t a publisher you’re not happy with the agency model. It did more than just change the nature of publisher/seller relations; it actively changed how booksellers could sell ebooks. Suddenly everyone had to fall in line with the exact same prices, and discounts were banned. Needless to say, this raised some regulatory eyebrows, and according to the Guardian UK, there’s been some old-fashioned office raiding over it! According to the article: The European commission has launched morning raids on several publishing houses suspected of fixing the prices of ebooks, as a huge battle for the…

Editorials

The Consequences of Distracted Driving

I got into a fender bender last night. Luckily no one was hurt, and as for the damage to my car (see above), well, that’s what insurance is for. In the aftermath, though, I’ve been doing quite a bit of thinking on how easily I let myself get distracted while driving, not just yesterday but in general…and fortuitously, this afternoon I came across my old iPod shuffle. If you’re wondering how I went from distracted driving to iPod shuffle, it’s not that crazy a leap. I usually use my Droid for music in my car, either using the built-in music…

Gear Bits

Proven True! Lightning Doesn’t Strike the Same Place Twice

photo credit: Kuzeytac You know the old saying that lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice? Well, now I have definitive proof that this is absolutely true. Yup, Lightning Does Not Strike The Same Place Twice! Years ago our house in the mountains suffered a direct lightning strike. How do I know that is the case? I know because it was the middle of the afternoon on Saturday and a huge storm front was coming through. Our golden retriever (she was still with us) and I were taking an afternoon siesta in the den; I LOVE afternoon naps when a…

Reviews

iPhone App Review: Localscope GPS App

Ever since the iPhone has had a built in GPS, location based applications have been useful and popular. I have personally looked at many of these apps and love to see the innovations developers are able to come up with. Of course, it was just a matter of time before these apps started integrating with social networking as well as other GPS apps. Localscope proves to do both by allowing users to search around their location using a variety of social engines and will allow directions to be sent to the Tom Tom navigation app. Tons of features and choices…

Music Diary

Music Diary Quickie: Phil Collins Takes a “Mysterious Biking Holiday” from Music

Phil Collins is an interesting figure in popular music – he began as the talented drummer of the progressive rock group Genesis, then suddenly became the frontman when Peter Gabriel left in 1975, leaving the drummer’s throne for the microphone as Bill Bruford and later Chester Thompson filled his former role. As Genesis vaulted from experimental rock to pop superstars, Collins simultaneously launched a massively successful career as a solo artist. At times it became hard to separate Collins from Genesis, and as his pop ballads became more and more overplayed on radio his core fans started to desert him….

Game Diary, Reviews

Tiny Wings for iPhone/Touch

Rarely does a game come along that leaves me totally addicted on my iPhone. While anxiously waiting for new levels on Angry Birds, another bird game caught my eye and now is ruling all of my spare time. Word of warning, if you are not interested in being completely addicted and enthralled with a game, do not purchase Tiny Wings. If you are interested in a super fun and crazy way to pass the time, read on and purchase immediately. You have always dreamed of flying – but your wings are tiny. Luckily the world is full of beautiful hills….

Gear Bits, Music Diary

Quiescence Music Offers ‘Top 14 Tips for Successful Piano Improvisation’

Several months ago I wrote about Quiescence Music giving away a book of New Age piano lessons simply for signing up for their email newsletter. I have enjoyed the weekly tips and ideas that Edward Weiss includes in the newsletter, and still encourage everyone to sign up! Now Quiescence has released a new tip sheet titled ‘Top 14 Tips for Successful Piano Improvisation.’ The tip sheet contains principles to help students play more freely at the piano. The creator of the tip sheet, pianist/composer Edward Weiss has this to say about it: Do you think you can’t improvise? Nonsense! All…

Gear Bits

GD Quickie: Old School Meets iTech with the iPhone Wallet

This takes the idea of the iPhone/Wallet combination to an entirely new level. Called the “iPhone RETRO MODERN leather wallet sleeve” the antiqued leather case has space for your iPhone 4, some credit card and some cash. It looks neat and is a great way to carry all the stuff you need in a cool looking, retro package. Just don’t put it in your back pocket and sit down! You can grab one HERE for $79. Via WERD

Gear Bits

GD Quickie: Check out the ‘Tron: Uprising’ Trailer!

While Tron: Legacy might not have lived up to the classic original, it was a solid film and great fan service. It also got younger kids introduced and intrigued by the world inside of the Grid! Now Disney has released the first trailer for the upcoming animated series Tron: Uprising. The story is set between the original Tron and Tron: Legacy. A quick overview: Beck, a young program who becomes the unlikely leader of a revolution inside the computer world of The Grid. His mission is to free his home and friends from the reign of the villainous Clu 2…

Reviews

Review- NIX 8″ Hu-Motion Digital Picture Frame with Motion Detection Sensor and Rechargeable Battery

I have a tremendous number of photographs sitting on my MacBook air. They range back more than 15 years and have various members of my community involved in many different activities. The problem is they sit there and they don’t get enjoyed by the community at large. Yes, I’ve taken to putting series of slide shows up on the synagogue website but people still need to go to the website in order to see them. As a result I’ve been looking around to try to find the right digital frame solution so that I could put the frame in my…

Reviews

iPhone Case Review- iSkin revo4 for iPhone 4

I tend to go for the most minimal of cases when it comes to protecting my iPhone. Sure this means my iDelicate cellphone is left more exposed to breakage but I just love having SOME protection while still keeping it in its gorgeous, super-model thin state. There are, however, times when it is best to pop off the thin shell and put the iPhone into something a bit more rugged. One good choice for such times is iSkin’s Special Edition revo4 for iPhone 4. It offers great bump protection while featuring a touch-through visor to protect the iPhone’s screen. From…

eBooks, Editorials

The Evils of Hokey Statistics: Bad Math and Free Kindles!

As anyone who has passed the third grade knows, all you need to form a line is two points and a ruler. Add another point and you can extend the line or draw a curve, and with one more point you can describe a third-order or declare a trend! All of that is good in the abstract, but when it comes to predictive modeling you need more data … and some common sense. So I chuckled when I saw this article at TheTechnium predicting free Kindles this year. The chuckle wasn’t that the idea was preposterous – in fact, here…

Gear Bits

GD Quickie: Sansa Fuze+ Firmware Update Makes the Fuze+ Usable!

A while back I reviewed the Sansa Fuze+ from Sandisk. Back then, the way the player was locked would wreak havoc with it. You would lock it and then the heat of your body would unlock it even when it wasn’t moving all that much in my pocket. Well, Sandisk has released an update to their firmware that changes the lock function and moves it from holding the play button in to lock to pressing in the power button on the top. To unlock, you just tap the power button which takes a lot more effort to do and now it is…

Gear Bits

GD Quickie: With Apple It Is All in the Timing Redux

If we have learned one thing about Apple in recent years, it’s that they don’t do anything by accident. Every move Apple makes is the result of a well thought out, calculated decision. It may be the wrong decision (think the MobileMe launch, iPhone 4 antennagate and a few others), but even those were the result of calculated choices the company made. So when Apple decided that they would launch the iPad2 next Friday at 5 PM we can assume there is some reasoned decision behind it. In a conversation with Elana last night, those reasons became abundantly clear to…

Reviews

Arctic Gear Review Pt 3: M571 Laser Gaming Mouse

Image courtesy of Arctic For the third and final installment of my Arctic Products review we will be looking at the M571 Gaming mouse. The past 2 reviews we looked at some gaming headsets, but this time it’s all about control. The K381 is a white and silver full size mouse that offers some great gaming features without breaking the bank while doing so. This mouse is an enhanced version of the earlier M551 and is targeted at the gaming community. The mouse I tested this against is my trusty Logitech G9 gaming mouse. I have been using the G9…

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