April 2011

Music Diary Songs of Note: Rush ‘Moving Pictures’ 30th Anniversary

Can it REALLY be 30 years since I saw Rush live in concert for the Moving Pictures tour? I suppose it has been … My love for Rush came not from Geddy Lee’s screeching voice, nor the prototypical sci-fi prog-rock lyrics, and certainly not the popularity of the group with the ‘post Zepplin & Floyd’ crowd in the late 70’s. It was all about the music – and more specifically about the musicianship of the trio. Their songs wove together complex riffs, changing time signatures, and plenty of room for all three musicians to make individual contributions. For me –…

Reviews

Review: SuperTooth Disco Bluetooth A2DP Stereo Speaker

I love my music and have something playing pretty much all the time unless I am speaking to someone. For quite a while that meant having some sort of speaker dock in the various room where I spend time. Lately though it has increasingly meant setting up various room so that AirPlay is available. (Yes, I finally understand the power and utility of the AirPort Express!) That does not, however mean there isn’t a place for some of the growing number of Bluetooth enabled speakers on the market. Sure, Bluetooth doesn’t offer the same level of audio quality as streaming…

Reviews

iPad Accessory Review: Element Case Joule Chroma iPad Stand

When the Element Case Vapor Pro Limited Edition that Judie reviewed last month showed up at my house so that I could take a closer look I was immediately impressed. Element Case’s products have always been premium deals, but with the Vapor Pro it was clear they had truly upped the ante: and that was before even opening the box!! Yes, the packaging alone screamed “I am a quality product; I’m not inexpensive, but boy am I worth it!” Yes, the packaging Element Case used evokes the same kind of experience that one finds when opening something new from Apple….

Gear Bits

iPad App Of Note: Will Blogsy Make Mobile Blogging A Reality?

One of the biggest issues I have faced since first getting my iPad is the challenge of trying to use it to quickly and cleanly write new blog posts from it. Sure there are iPad apps that promise mobile blogging but none of them have worked properly for me. The issue was so bad that Judie and I brought Samsung Galaxy Tabs to CES with use, and they work well for remote posting. Not so, any of the iOS apps either of us have tried. Well hopefully that changed with the release of Blogsy. This new iPad app is just…

News

Celebrate National Park Week April 16-24

This Rocky Mountain National Park chipmunk is ready for his closeup This just in from the National Park Foundation: Top 10 ways to celebrate National Park Week 2011. Our national parks are our treasures and should not be missed. The handful I have visited over the years (some repeatedly) cannot be expressed in mere words or pictures; they truly have to be experienced. If not during National Park Week, at some point make it a priority to visit a national park or two (or more, discover for yourself that feeling of awe and amazement as you explore new places that…

News

Bluetrek CARBON Headset: Super Strong and Super Light

Bluetooth headsets have been given a bad rap by some. Yes, they can look kind of geeky. And yes, they can make you look like you are being even more anti-social than ever. And yes, some of the bigger ones make you look plain stupid. But Bluetooth headsets ARE convenient, they DO make speaking a big easier by leaving both hands free and they ARE safer if you are speaking in the car. And now, thanks to Bluetrek Bluetooth headsets CAN be a fashion statement. The new Bluetrek CARBON is “equipped with the best in class audio enhancement technology” but…

Reviews

FitPac NEO Review

There are very few times that an accessory can be polarizing and generate major debate, yet the FitPac NEO generated quite the discussion when I showed it to some friends. Reactions ranged from “Why would you use this?” to “Oh, I could totally see this being helpful for x, y, z”. You’ll have to read a bit further to see what Sarah had to say about it, but first let’s look at what the FitPac NEO is and why it may be a bit of an acquired taste. The company describes themselves and their products as: FitPac Lifestyle Accessories, a…

News

Guess What Judie is Getting for Her B-Day? Orbino’s Padova Case for iPad 2

Judie’s birthday is coming up fast and selecting something she will love is not easy. Well, usually it is not easy but this year it was a no brainer and, thanks to Orbino, we are going all out on this year’s gift. Let me explain. A few weeks ago we did some “secret shopping” with Orbino. We had worked with them in the past and were not thrilled with the customer service. We had heard from Orbino’s Michael Ventre and he challenged us to go shopping again. We did and after changing our order a few times we concluded that…

eBooks

In the Book Race, eBooks Take the Lead

Any debate that monster eBook sales versus paper books were a fluke born out of the holiday season has been put to rest. The Association of American Publishers is reporting that eBook sales not only tripled from last year, they also blew away paper book sales. Uh-oh…maybe B&N should consider going digital faster… I find this fascinating not just because it’s big news, but also because it fits with the conversations I’ve had with random people lately. Around my office, at dinner functions, etc., anytime books come up everyone says the same thing: “I/my friend/my husband/my neighbor just bought a…

Game Diary, Reviews

Gear Games Review: Desktop Dungeons

What are you doing for lunch? How about playing a great dungeon crawl game (aka a ‘rogue-like’)? That is exactly what Desktop Dungeons promises … but can the free game deliver? The Hype: Fight your way through a fantasy dungeon in 10 minutes or less Classic roguelike play re-imagined as a single-screen puzzle game Unlock loads of classes, races and challenge dungeons for awesome replayability Online leaderboard allows you to compare yourself against other players Deep, challenging, randomly-generated gameplay The Reality: When you first start Desktop Dungeons, you are presented with the simple screen below. You can choose your race,…

Editorials

Apple’s 4GB Problem

Last night I was greeted with yet another iOS update when I hooked up my iPod Touch, so as usual I let iTunes go ahead and update. It was also updating some of my apps, so I checked the progress. As usual, the update was > 600MB. Later I hooked up my iPad 2 … same thing – another 600+ MB download. Then this morning I went to sync up my original iPad. That’s right – another 600+ MB download! So now I have downloaded nearly 2GB of data for my three iOS devices – must be some pretty important…

News

Apple Employees and the Trevor Project Send the Message that “It Gets Better”

This past fall a student at Rutgers University here in New Jersey walked up on a bridge and proceeded to jump off. He had been outed as a homosexual by a cruel prank that put his sharing affection with another male student up on the web. He was humiliated. Things were so bad that he could not see a time when things would be better. He was wrong, they would have been, but his field of vision had become so narrow that all he wanted was to stop the pain in that moment. So he jumped off the bridge. That…

News

Verbatim Offers Digital Data Storage and Backup Solutions This Tax Season

Death and Taxes – oh how we hear that phrase overused, and for my purposes here I plead guilty. Fortunately I am here to talk about the latter and not the former. Our friends over at Verbatim, maker of digital data storage and backup products, want loyal US taxpayers (or at least tax filers) to remember to back up all your data. Recent springtime storms across the center of the country bring that suggestion even more to light as this will be one less thing to worry about when Mother Nature turns nasty and you are faced with putting your…

News

Walking the Dinosaur at School!

My school was never this cool! Take a look at what happened when a T-Rex (driven by its fantastic puppet-master) arrived at a Sydney, Australia school. The looks on the kids’ faces when the dino roars at them are priceless … but what’s really cool is how it takes a moment to realize how the puppeteer is working the puppet, but even then — the T-Rex is so lifelike, you can easily forget it’s not some kind of digitalized movie extra. JWZ via Boing Boing

Editorials

BlackBerry PlayBook First Impressions

First impressions mean a lot when you are talking about technology. No, it does not sell a device or keep you using it, but it does make the difference when you’re considering a purchase in the first place. Given that many of the initial reviews are less than stellar, I wasn’t sure what my first impression of the BlackBerry PlayBook would be. That noted, I just had the chance to have my hands on one for a few minutes, and my first impressions are actually quite good. I have always liked the size of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and this…

Reviews

Review: BlueAnt S3 Compact BlueTooth Speakerphone

One of the more interesting Bluetooth accessory manufacturers that I’ve encountered over the last year is BlueAnt. I wasn’t all that familiar with the company until the fall, but they have been making some impressive moves with regard to product design and innovation, and I’ve been quite impressed with their offerings. Currently their portfolio includes car speakerphones, the S3 and S4, with the S3 being the lower end of the two. Lower end does not, however, mean “not awesome”, since both speakerphones have impressed me quite a bit. Today we are going to look at the S3 and then follow-up…

Music Diary

Music Diary Flashback: In 2001 the Music Industry Thought They Could ‘Make MP3 Obsolete’

Despite growing up in the era of the LP and 8-track tape, in many ways it is hard to remember a time since the dawn of the digital era before the MP3 was a legitimately purchasable format. Sure we all remember the Napster days with fairly rampant piracy made easier by the rise in broadband adoption, but there was a fixation on those downloading files illegally over the internet due to the newness and general fascination with all things ‘net’ related back then. It seemed that even then the RIAA was simply scapegoating piracy way out of proportion with what…

eBooks

Is B&N’s Future a Digital One?

Now that Borders has one and a half feet in the grave, all eyes are on what B&N will do now. It seems like opinion is split between believing B&N will be ok and predictions that Borders fall is a precursor to the same fate at B&N. Fortune thinks the answer is simple: Kill off the bookstore business and go all digital. Specifically, here’s what Fortune thinks: The road ahead for Barnes & Noble will prove tough. Few brick and mortar companies have successfully negotiated the choppy waters to safe digital harbors. But Barnes & Noble, unlike Borders, has one…

News

Earth Day Gadget: Belkin Conserve Valet

Earth Day is coming up! What better way to support mother earth than to save a bit of power when charging your devices? At least that is what Belkin must have been thinking when they released the new Belkin Conserve Valet. The Conserve Valet is a 4 port charging station that has a unique ability. It detects when an attached USB device is charged up and when detected, it shuts down the power to the port. This helps us conserve at least a little bit of power; it also lets you manage those many cords with some built-in cord management….

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

2011 Volkswagen Grand Caravan … or is it the Chrysler Routan?

Oops! … I did it again. I played with your heart. Got lost in the game. As the Brittany Spears song lyrics above suggest, someone “did it again.” Volkswagen. Once again they raise my ire as they deliver a minivan model “imported from Detroit” … literally. I am speaking of the Routan/Grand Caravan. When they first launched Routan a few years back I expressed in words that my opinion of the brand slapping their badge on someone else’s work was not winning any accolades from me. To be fair, this is a very good minivan and ALL the credit goes…

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