September 2011

iPad 2 Case Review: ZENUS iPad 2 Leather Case ‘Prestige’ HandCraft Stitch Pouch Series

We got our hands on two different cases for the iPad 2 from a company called ZENUS. We had not seen their offerings previously but were immediately impressed by the sheer number and variety of cases they have available. The first of the two cases we’ll look at is the ZENUS iPad 2 Leather Case ‘Prestige’ HandCraft Stitch Pouch Series. The off-white case has a nice look and feel. If you tend to be a fan of pouch-style cases it is worth a look. From ZENUS: ZENUS ‘Prestige’ Handcraft Stitch Series is a pouch type case made of high quality…


Giving the Honeywell HEPAClean 3-in-1 Advanced Air Cleaning System a Try During This Allergy Season

Have you ever taken a good look at the space just in front of you when the morning sun shines directly in your windows? If you have pets or live anywhere other than in a hermetically sealed envelope, you are probably used to seeing fine floating particles that are nearly unidentifiable … but if you have allergies they are all it takes to make your skin crawl in anticipation of your histamines’ response. Those of us who suffer from allergies are used to dealing with itchy eyes, scratchy throats, runny noses and stuffy heads … and if we are lucky,…


Pop Goes the Music Diary: How Hot is Dubstep? Cereal Commercial Hot!

If you haven’t heard of the musical sub-genre ‘dubstep’, or artists like Deadmau5, Tiesto, Skrillex, and so on … I have a suggestion: GET WITH IT!!! Seriously, this no-words-needed, drum & bass inspired techno dance show electronic style of music is all the rage with kids, to the point where I was only slightly surprised to see the dubstep-heavy Wheetobix commercial from the UK. In full disclosure, my younger son is a full-on dubstep fan, and saved his summer yardwork money to buy a ticket to see Skrillex … so I know all of this stuff all too well! Source:…


A Relevant Thought About ‘Free’

This week we learned that Samsung will be the latest Android licensee paying huge royalties to Microsoft, and a general sense that the final nails in the ‘Android is free’ coffin have been hammered. We also heard the uproar about the Spotify-Facebook linkage, and even though Spotify now has a ‘private listening mode’ they still require a Facebook account and connection. Finally, Facebook itself has gotten criticism for its practice of tracking users even when they are logged out of the service! This is yet another security issue for online services, something I talked about in Invasion of the Super-Cookies….


Random Cool Videos: What Your Kids Are Watching On YouTube Today

The title is misleading, since you really never know … but here are three things my kids can’t see to leave alone this week – which I suppose is better than Nyan Cat yet again! First, we have an amazing show of ‘chicken beatboxing’ … which is beatboxing, but with chicken sounds! Yeah … just watch: Next we have a video simply Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom. It is totally stupid, which means you won’t get it out of your head today. Finally … minimalist cartoons that are somehow some of the most amusing stuff middle and high…


iPad 2 Case Review: ZENUS iPad 2 Leather Case with Stand ‘Prestige’ Crocodile Sportism Series

This is the second of two iPad 2 cases from ZENUS that we are reviewing. This time out we are looking at the ZENUS iPad 2 Leather Case with Stand ‘Prestige’ Crocodile Sportism Series, a pearl white folio-style case made of leather that is embossed in a manner that makes it look like crocodile skin. Here’s a closer look. From ZENUS: ZENUS ‘Prestige’ Crocodile Sportism Series has its unique contemporary style by using bold lines and colors on the pressed cowhide that resembles ‘gator hide’ which has a touch of exotic crocodile skin to enhance its luxury appeal and style….


Random Cool Video: The Imperial March Played on Floppy Disk Drives

Anyone old enough to remember how floppy disk drives had some very characteristic sounds will instant appreciate this video – the Imperial March from Star Wars played on two floppy disks. According to Silent’s official site: How does it work? It’s nothing new and it’s very simple. The sound comes from a magnetic head moved by stepper motor. To make a specific sound, head must be moved with appropriate frequency. FDD has a simple interface – the description may be found for example [ HERE ]. To move the head you need to activate the drive by pulling the DRVSB0…


Android Fragmentation: Some Perspective from the Developers of ‘Magic Defenders’

The other day I wrote about my frustration about the state of fragmentation in the Android ecosystem, citing my inability to buy the game Magic Defenders for my Acer Iconia A100 7″ Honeycomb-based tablet. I have been fortunate in the two of the developers from Clueless Ideas, the company making the game, have reached out to me – and one even commented on my post! His reply was thoughtful and insightful – and I thought it warranted being highlighted. When I saw in my email that someone from the developing company was commenting, my initial concern was that they didn’t…



Speck FitFolio for NOOKcolor Review

The NOOKcolor is a great device, but like all electronics it needs a certain degree of protection. Loose in a bag there are too many things that could scratch, crack, or damage the screen or plastic body. But cases that offer total protection often add significant bulk, or are awkward to hold, or have various other tradeoffs. The Speck FitFolio appears to address all of that; is it the perfect blend of protection and size, or a swing and a miss? Read on to find out! First, here’s what Speck has to say: Protective padded cover with microsuede interior Custom…


Music Diary Review: 100 Best of Blue Note (10-CD Box) (2010/11, Jazz)

100 Best of Blue Note Last Christmas I got a really cool gift – one that I have only now begun to use and appreciate. It was the massive 10-CD box set ‘100 Best of Blue Note’. As of right now I can only find the collection in MP3 format on Amazon and iTunes, with the CD collection still listed on the German Blue Note site. This is what you call ‘truth in advertising’ – the box consists of 100 tracks from the Blue Note collection of recordings, which theoretically spans from 1939 to the present, but much of which…


Gaming Headset Review: Sharkoon X-Tatic SR Surround Sound Headphones

It is hard to believe, but not everyone wants to listen as you pump sound from video games through your home theater system. That is why there are gaming headsets to begin with – they provide a microphone, but can also provide very sensitive audio … or blast your face off with mega-sound! I use basic Apple or Sony earbuds most of the time, which are adequate but don’t begin to emulate the home theater experience – which is why there are ‘portable sound-systems like the Sharkoon X-Tatic SR. Let’s take a look! The Hype: Sharkoon headsets are sophisticated in…


The Synology DS211+ Review: A Pint Sized 2-Bay NAS with some Really Big Features

Image courtesy of Synology You can’t be too cautious these days about backing up your data. Time and time again friends, family and co-workers come to me about trying to recover pictures, music and documents on a failed or virus ridden drive. Some even have their small business data lost when the main computer goes down. My first advice to anyone is that they should get themselves some sort of backup device, whether it be Desktop Attached Storage or Network Attached Storage and some good software to automate the backups. I have wanted to upgrade my 2TB external drive to…


Windows Phone 7.5 ‘Mango’ Arrives but Will It Be Enough?

I recently wrote about my initial experiences with the HTC 7 Pro from U.S. Cellular and commented on some early concerns about Windows Phone 7.5, aka the ‘Mango’ update that some are touting as what will save Windows Phone and enable Microsoft to lead the smartphone market. Despite early concerns and more recent issues with Windows Phone Marketplace ‘spam’, most early reports indicated that Mango is what Windows Phone 7 SHOULD have been a year ago. No one really knows exactly what the mobile market will look like five years from now – and certainly any analysts in 2006 making…


The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI: Cheaper Does Not Mean Cheapened

Volkswagen is in the midst of a product transformation. For model year 2011 it completely redesigned the popular Jetta and this year they are introducing a new Passat and Beetle. While giving the vehicles more precise lines there seems to be a strong determination to clean things up and simplify design and content while at the same time placing a great deal of urgency on “getting things right.” We recently spent time in the new Jetta sedan and I believe they are “getting it right.” Ours was a TDI model featuring a fuel-thrifty 2.0-liter 140hp turbodiesel inline four-cylinder engine in…


Kindle Case Review: WanderFolio for Kindle 3

(Part 3 of 3) In part 1 of this 3 part review series we looked at the Speck FitFolio. In part 2 we looked at the Speck BookShield. In this third and final part of the series we will look at the Speck WanderFolio for Kindle 3. Think of the WanderFolio as the big brother of the FitFolio, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what this case is all about. Let’s take a closer look, since this is the most intricate and useful of the three cases we are reviewing. From Speck: Keep your money, cards, ID and…


Music Diary Songs of Note: VEVO Brings Full Nirvana 1991 Concert to Web!

I have already posted about the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind being celebrated by Spin Magazine’s free set of cover songs, but today VEVO is doing something really great to celebrate the anniversary as well. The concert isn’t presented as one big video, but rather as discrete songs on VEVO’s site. Here is a single song – Breed: According to Mashable: To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s landmark album, Nevermind, Vevo will air a performance starting this afternoon. The concert first aired on Sept. 23 on VH1, VH1 Classic, and Palladia. The concert was filmed in 1991 at the…


Android Fragmentation: Alive and Devastating Android Gaming Efforts

I love Tower Defense games such as Plants vs. Zombies and Fieldrunners, so when I saw a link on Google+ for a great new tablet / Honeycomb based TD game I got excited! When I heard it was a magic-based variant on the genre, I was intrigued and based on a couple of comments I was pretty well sold! Here is the description of Magic Defenders HD: Ready for magic circles, spells and an endless army of orcs? Be the hero and defend your village from the evil orcs in three different invasion episodes. You will fight in the forest,…


Pet Product Review: Booster Bath Mini Makes Washing Small Dogs a Breeze!

Washing a dog can can be an ‘adventure’ for everyone involved. If you have a small dog it generally means washing them in the sink – and getting water all over the counters and pretty much anything in the kitchen! If you have a larger dog you might use the bathtub – with similar results. Now there is a new product – the Booster Bath! We have two small dogs, so when the opportunity came up to review the ‘mini’ version of the Booster Bath we gave it a try! Read on to find out how things went and to…


Notebook PC Review: Toshiba Satellite L755-S5258 Laptop

In my review of the Toshiba Satellite S4250, I highlighted the almost maniacal devotion to delivering serious audio performance. With the Satellite L755-S5258 (hereafter called the S5258), Toshiba is offering a larger (15.6″!) screen, full-featured numeric keypad, same processor, and a stylish design – for $100 less! So let’s take a look and see how the S5258 performs! The Hype: Generous High-Def Viewing Don’t compromise when it comes to watching movies, juggling tasks or building complex spreadsheets. The Satellite® L750 laptop comes with a broad and truly brilliant 15.6” diagonal TruBrite® HD display that brings out color and clarity you…


Kindle Case Review: Speck BookShield for Kindle 3

(Part 2 of 3) In part 1 of this three-part review of Speck’s cases for the Kindle 3 we looked at the Speck FitFolio. This time around we are looking at the Speck BookShield. While the FitFolio takes offers Speck’s take on the tradition folio, the BookShield takes a minimalist approach that, while thin and light, still protects the Kindle’s screen and keyboard. From Speck: BookShield is an ingenious and durable Kindle 3 case, fusing a hard plastic screen protector into a rubbery crystal-clear cover. It’s made of a soft flexible plastic that covers the screen, buttons, corners, and front…