July 2012

Able Planet PS400B Stereo Headphones Review

I tend to prefer in-ear buds over on-ear or over-the-ear headphones. To me they just seem more… comfortable, at least when I am wearing them for an extended time. Still, there are times when I do like the on-ear or over-ear style, especially when the headphones sound good and are comfortable to wear. Most of the time, though, the headphones that have those qualities are rather pricey. Not so with Abel Planet’s new PS400B headphones. These over-the-ear cans have a detachable cable, come with a decent carry bag, are quite comfortable and, best of all, they sound good. Surprisingly, they…

Events, Reviews

Dark Knight Rises Film Review

This conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s film trilogy gives audiences an amazing swan song for the Caped Crusader that features constant surprises, character reveals, and compelling closure all set in the tumultuous city of Gotham.

Reviews

SongPop For iPhone Review

I have a habit of playing name that tune and artist with my wife when we are listening to music. She hates it because she never learns who artists are, just listens to music. Music plays a huge role in my life and I have always been one of those people who always know who is playing the song on the radio for certain genres. In fact, I always wanted to compete on Rock and Roll Jeopardy when it was on VH1. I recently saw a former high school classmate posting information from SongPop on Facebook and thought it looked…

How to Do It Yourself!

How to get Amazon Prime Streaming Media and Flash Content to Play on your Nexus 7

Amazon Prime Streaming “Ronin” on Nexus 7 Flash is dead…or is it? Although Adobe Flash is no longer support on the latest version of Android 4.1 (Jellybean), that does not mean you can’t enjoy the benefits of Flash content and movies. The move from flash-based content to HTML5 has been long underway but the truth is that the internet is still riddled with flash content including the one of the “King’s of Media”, Amazon Prime. Without Flash it is simply impossible to stream Amazon content to your new Nexus 7 tablet. When you go to the Play Store and…

News

AT&T Joins the Shared Data Game

So I’m working though my latest summer sinus headache and I see the news – AT&T has finally announced (as expected) that they are going to follow Verizon in offering shared data plans. And, like Verizon’s offering, the plans all include unlimited voice and texting plus a fixed amount of data. The primary difference you notice between the AT&T and Verizon offerings is that Verizon charges a fixed $40 per smartphone and AT&T lowers the per smartphone cost as you increase the amount of data you purchase. But Verizon’s “base” charges tend to be lower (per GB) as you get…

$Total ArKade Software Conjures Up Major Update for AbraWordabrA for iOS and Android$

News

Total ArKade Software Conjures Up Major Update for AbraWordabrA for iOS and Android

Back in the dim, dark past of the latter portion of the last century, learning math was a laborious, tedious job for me. It likely wasn’t all that exciting to my friends and classmates back in the day either. Improving our math skills consisted largely of poring over printed material and flash cards, with an occasional rare foray into a few educational programs on TV. For the most part, learning math was often BORING. The upshot is that we got to inhale the sweet odor of the blue mimeographed quiz/test papers, part of the educational rites of a bygone era….

News

iPhone 4 Cases Get Patriotic With Griffin’s New “Nations” Lineup

July 4th is long gone, but before you put away your flags and USA-themed partyware, check out Griffin Technology’s latest case line for iPhone 4 / 4S. Arriving just in time for the 2012 Olympics, this protective gear will keep your smartphone looking festive and patriotic. As a company known for their innovations in the world of electronic accessories, Griffin builds sturdy, well-designed cases to keep your i-baby safe from harm. “The Nations Cases are not only festive, but they deflect everyday bumps and scratches, without hindering your access to the Multi-Touch display, controls and connectors,” said Todd Word, Sales…

Reviews, Travel

Skooba Design Laptop Weekender V.3 Review (Spoiler- You Want This!)

Hi, my name is Dan and I am the poster child for Over-packers Anonymous. It’s true. I have a packing problem. When I go anywhere I fill whatever bags I am bringing to overflowing and then I add a bit more. And that holds true for my cloths, my electronics and my incidentals. The result? When I went to Aruba last December I brought three times as much as I needed. When I went to Vegas for CES I brought twice as much as I needed. And when I went to Dearborn for GoFurther with Ford last month I had…

Gear Bits, Outdoors, Travel

New York City’s High Line Park is a Raised Treasure

Charles Harvey demonstrating his elevated railroad design on Greenwich Street in 1867, source In the 1930s and 1940s, New York’s elevated High Line ran between factories and warehouses delivering milk, meat, produce, and raw and manufactured goods without creating congestion on the streets below. Rather than run above the streets of the businesses it serviced, the High Line ran through buildings, which was the city’s attempt to “avoid creating the negative conditions associated with elevated subways.” In 1980, the last train ran on the High Line pulling three carloads of frozen turkeys. In the mid-1980s, area property owners began lobbying…

Crowdfunding, Reviews

LunaTik Touch Pen Video Review, Kickstart This!

Project Title: LunaTik Touch Pen: The Evolution of the Stylus Status: Funded, Backer Rewards Received, New Orders Being Taken Closing Date for Funding: February 10, 2012 URL of the Project: Find it here. From the Creatives: Thank you for checking out our LunaTik Touch Pen project. Ever since we launched the TikTok+LunaTik Watch Kits on Kickstarter last year we have been constantly asked when we were going to do another project. Well, we have been working on a variety of ideas which we plan to launch in the near future. One of the first ideas is a simple and obvious…

News, Reviews

Hands-On Video Review of Google Nexus 7 and My ‘7-Day Nexus Challenge’

By now, anyone who tracks mobile technology has heard something about the ASUS-made Google Nexus 7. We’ve already heard it alternately described as a ‘Kindle Fire Killer’, an ‘iPad Killer’, or “just another 7″ tablet to toss on the pile”. Let’s take a quick look at the Nexus 7, and the challenge I am undertaking! The Hype: For a limited time, includes $25 of credit to spend in the Play store, as well as some great free content like your own copy of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. THIN, LIGHT AND PORTABLE: Nexus 7 is a no compromise Android tablet that’s designed to…

eBooks, News

NOOK Goes Web Based

Good news, if you care deeply about reading ebooks on every possible device-B&N has released a web version of the NOOK platform. This is one of those features that every ebook store has felt compelled to offer but frankly, it’s a bit of a yawner. It’s helpful if you want to read on a computer and you can’t install software, but is that a common occurrence? Is it something we really want? Or need? From the press release: NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today introduced NOOK for…

Game Diary, Reviews

Hands-On Video Review of Google Nexus 7 Gaming Experience

When it was announced that the Google Nexus 7 was going to have the nVidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor and a multi-core high-performance GPU, I had a very simple thought go through my mind: mmmmmmmm Games … Now that I have the Nexus 7, I was able to put it through the gaming paces – and within a few hours I noted performance good enough that I decided to do a separate look at several games rather than just embed it into my overall review. Here are the games I looked at along with links to Google Play: – ShadowGun…

Crowdfunding, Reviews

TouchFire Screen-Top Keyboard for iPad, Some Kickstarter Projects Just Don’t Make the Grade

Project Title: TouchFire: The Screen-Top Keyboard for iPad Status: Funded and my backer reward arrived Closing Date for Funding: December 13, 2011 URL of the Project: Find it here. From the Creatives: TouchFire makes your iPad feel like a normal keyboard! TouchFire puts the “touch” back into typing on an iPad. You can now feel where the keys are and rest your fingers on the home row, so you can type as fast and accurately as you can on a laptop. You can even type without looking at the screen. TouchFire cushions your fingers as you type, something both touch-typists and…

Reviews

ThinkTank Retrospective 7 Camera Bag Review

A few weeks back I wrote an initial post about upping my photographic game. After much thought and discussion I purchased a Canon G3i DSLR with an extra lens, and I have been accumulating additional accessories to go with it. (As a result there are a good many reviews on the way!!) Of course, I need a convenient and protective way to carry the camera. I shared an initial look at three different bags from ThinkTank Photo (check it out here). This post is the first of three in-depth looks at them. The Retrospective 7 is the smallest of the ThinkTank…

Gear Bits, News

Rock Radio Returns To New York!

Almost exactly one year ago, 101.9RXP went off the air, leaving NYC without a decent rock radio station. I was more than a bit sad about this, and while Pandora has partially filled that void I really missed listening to the radio. That is why I was thrilled when I saw on Facebook yesterday that 101.9 was back to good old rock music! I tuned in this morning on my way to work. The selection seems excellent so far. There was no DJ, and I didn’t hear any commercials. Instead, there was an occasional station identification of “101.9 NYC Rock…

News

Think Tank Photo Lets You “Test Drive” Your Next Camera Bag

I’m enjoying the process of using and reviewing a number of different camera bags from Think Tank Photo. As we have previously noted, the bags are impressive in their design and flexibility. You can read and see our overview here. Think Tank just let us know that they have launched a new program- The Think Tank Test Drive. The Think Tank Test Drive program, which runs through the end of August, means you can try one of their Sling-O-Matic sling bags for free for 30 days. (This program is in place of the free gift Gear Diary readers get with Think…

Game Diary, Reviews

Pro Cycling Manager 2012 for PC Review

Experience the entire professional cycling season including the Tour de France with stimulating simulations, challenging gameplay, and detailed management systems.

Editorials

Name that Propaganda … is the US Olympic Uniform Stance ‘Anti-Olympic’?

If you missed out on the whole kerfuffle around the Olympic Uniforms let me sum it up quickly. Basically, like pretty every other garment you can buy in stores in the US, designer Ralph Lauren produced the uniforms in China. In an election year play politicians saw a chance to show their patriotism and commitment to home-grown jobs by making elaborate demands that future Olympic uniforms be manufactured in the US. Personally looking at the image above I am more taken aback at the authoritarian pose in the picture. Rather than serving as a tribute to our Olympians, the pose reminds me of political/military…

Crowdfunding

POP – The Intersection of Charging and Design, Kickstart This!

Project Title: POP – The Intersection of Charging and Design Status: Raised $5261 of $50,000 goal Closing Date for Funding: September 1, 2012 URL of the Project: Find it here. From the Creatives: The batteries in our mobile devices have not been able to keep up with the increased usage. As a result, we often find ourselves looking for places to charge. But many times, convenience and charging do not go hand in hand. At the Edison Junior Design Laboratory, we developed the perfect solution to this problem. POP, aka “Portable Power”, is a rechargeable portable battery with retractable cord…

« 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 »