November 2012

Audyssey Wireless Speakers Review

Hi, Captain Obvious here with a thought that is… well, obvious. Today’s totally obvious thought? No matter how good tech gets, there will always be pros and cons to any and every device. This holds for computers, it holds for tablets, and it holds for audio systems; let’s focus on audio system. I LOVE my Sonos system. It works perfectly for me, thanks to its connection with my home WiFi network and the terrific Sonos app that works on any and all my devices. And since I subscribe to Spotify, I can have all my music anywhere there is a…

News

Look at How Much the Galaxy Market Push Is Costing Samsung

This year has been pretty awesome for Samsung – they have seen huge success with the Galaxy SIII, surprise success with the Galaxy Note and Note II, as well as big wins in all of their other businesses. And as I have said, the Samsung Galaxy SIII is one of the best phones I have ever touched and deserves the accolades … and my wife says I will pry it from her cold dead hands! We have also often talked about ads – Apple, Samsung and others (but mostly Apple and Samsung). Apple does loads of advertising, and has created…

Music Diary, News

AC/DC Finally Comes to iTunes, Posts Big Sales in First Week

I remember that with the rock band I played with in high school, one of the first songs we learned was the (new at the time) Highway to Hell by AC/DC. The following year AC/DC really exploded with their greatest album – Back In Black, with a load of classic rock songs that most people would recognize. It was a solid record with little ‘filler’, but AC/DC was really a singles rock band in an ‘AOR’ (album oriented rock) time. Why do I mention this? Because AC/DC has been a hold out in terms of getting their stuff digitally on…

Reviews

Eemov Nano Stabilizer Arm Review

Smartphone cameras and camcorder abilities have improved by leaps and bounds over the last few years, and that means that more and more they are becoming our go-to devices to record precious memories and important events. Where you used to see someone carrying anything from a point and shoot to a full DSLR, you now see people whipping out their iPhones or Android devices (and sometimes even iPads!) As a result, the camera accessories people used to use with their dedicated cameras are now being reinvented as smartphone compatible. I had the opportunity to review one such device, the Eemov…

Crowdfunding, Game Diary, News

Sinister Design Launches a Telepath Tactics Kickstarter!

I have written several times about the cool hybrid indie RPG ‘Telepath RPG: Servants of God’, and while I never finished the review I started, it remains a unique experience and one of the best indie games I have played this year. For a while now developer Craig Stern has been talking up the progress on his turn-based game Telepath Tactics – and now he has launched a Kickstarter effort in order to deliver a game with a robust single-player experience and more graphics content than the original simple turn-based multiplayer game he planned. Project Title: Telepath Tactics game for…

Game Diary, News

Battlefield 3 Expansion Pack Aftermath Releases

Battlefield 3: Aftermath, the fourth expansion pack which features a four new maps (Azadi Palace, Epicenter, Markaz Monolith, and Talah Market), three new vehicles (Barsuk, Phoenix, and Rhino) plus modified military and civilian vehicles. Players can also enjoy the new “XBOW” crossbow weapon, and a new “scavenger” mode where players search for weapons while starting with only a pistol. New assignments, dogtags, achievements, and trophies are also included. PlayStation 3 premium members can get this expansion pack now (associated Battlefield 3 game copy required) while it release for Xbox 360 and PC premium players on December 4. Players without premium…

Vehicles & Gear

First Drive of all-new 2013 Nissan Sentra

Our recent trip to California with Nissan was a two-part launch program. The first I already brought you in the form of the all-new, unibody-once-again, three-row Pathfinder. The second is the 2013 Sentra compact sedan. Nissan wants to be your sedan destination and part of that, a big part, is this seventh-generation model. The compact segment is now second in total vehicle sales overall, growing to more than 2 million units per year with much of the competition already launching new units or rolling them out soon. Nissan has sold more than 4.3 million Sentras over the past 30 years,…

Reviews

Hunter’s Universal Internet Thermostat Review

Every now and then I review a product that I quickly realize I’m not only going to continue using after the review but will likely purchase more for use elsewhere. That is the case with Hunter’s Universal Internet Thermostat. The thermostat is simple to install, uncomplicated to set up, and it works phenomenally well. In fact, just this morning, Elana said to me, “so before I even got out of bed, I used the iPhone application to make sure the temperature was going up in the kitchen and living room.” That’s enough for me to want to continue using it and…

Gear Bits

What Would a Nationwide Secession Really Look Like?

I have to admit, my main response to all those petitions to secede after the presidential election was to laugh, shrug, and move on with my day. However, one very creative author came up with a much more entertaining take on secession, turning into an alternate history account of what civil war would look like if every state fended for itself. Slate has the full tale, but here’s a taste: The first real occupation attempts happened when attempts were made to secure more assets. The Republic of Texas sought to gain strategic advantages in the Central United States. To do…

News

Apple’s Profit Compared to Everyone Else’s Profits

Everyone familiar with the tech world knows that Apple is insanely profitable … but have you ever wondered just HOW profitable? The folks at Statista took on the challenge and made a chart of Apple profits compared to other companies. But if you have looked at similar graphs in the past, you know that Apple is SO MUCH more profitable that there is a lack of perspective! So instead the graph stacks up groups of other companies and compares their cumulative profits to Apple. It is pretty amazing to look at the graph: Apple is more profitable than the combination…

Health and Fitness, News

Cool Story Behind a Great Picture

Chances are if you or anyone you know is into running, you have since the picture above this week. Running clubs and individuals have picked it up everywhere, but as so often happens it was done without attribution or a link to the original source. Today on my own local Facebook running group there was a link to the original source. In case the image isn’t clear, it says: 50 Fat Diabetic Ahead of you Turns out the picture was taken by a woman who blogs as the ‘T-Rex Runner’, and she tracked down the guy wearing the shirt and…

Crowdfunding, Game Diary, News

Legend of Dungeon Opens Up Kickstarter Effort, Launches Free Demo

I wrote about the teaser trailer for Legend of Dungeon last week, noting that the title sounded like a joke. Developer RobotLovesKitty got back to me and mentioned that it actually started as a joke – but then stuck! They also mentioned that they were launching a Kickstarter to fund even more features for the game – and offering a free demo! Project Title: Legend of Dungeon game for PC/Mac/Linux Status: Active Closing Date for Funding: 12/16/2012 URL of the Project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robotloveskitty/legend-of-dungeon From the Creatives: As you explore the sparsely lit dungeon, gather items and battle monsters you will no doubt…

Reviews

Sena Magia Wallet for iPhone 5 Review

We’ve been looking at a number of the cases Sena offers for the iPhone 5. This time out we are looking at the Sena Magia Wallet for iPhone 5. This wallet-style case protects your phone, holds a number of cards, and does so in as simple and stylish manner as I have seen. Let’s take a look. From Sena: Give your Apple iPhone 5 the sleek and versatile look it deserves . The Magia Wallet’s modern innovation clasps your smartphone in place and engulfs it with handcrafted premium leather. Features: Seamless luxurious slim design Magia Tape adhesive securely holds your…

Reviews

Build-A-Lot 4 Power Source HD for iPad Review

Type of app: Time Management Platform/where to buy: iPad (iPhone version, here); available in the App Store Developer: HipSoft / G5 Entertainment Description: Make your cities grow and glow in this energetic hit! You already know how to construct homes, malls and restaurants, right? Now it’s time to invest in green energy! Build solar towers, wind farms and even nuclear power plants to make your cities sustainable and prosperous for generations. Watch out for blackouts, though, as building too fast can result in a system overload. So take it slow, plan ahead and manage your energy resources carefully. Be ready…

Editorials, Game Diary

#1reasonwhy – Twitter (and blogs) Discuss Why Only 6% of Game Developers Are Women

When you look broadly across the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), women have made tremendous gains in the decades since I entered undergraduate school. This is excellent – there is simply no reason women shouldn’t have equal representation … so long as the opportunity is equal and fair. But there are some areas where women are terribly under-represented – and not just at higher levels, but at all levels. This article talks about the hostile environment at Goldman Sachs, but recently there has been a great deal of discussion about the lack of women in game design…

Gear Bits, Yum Log

Cocoa Beans Channel Coffee Beans with Choffy

While I cut way back on my coffee consumption after I stopped working for Borders, I still appreciate a well made cup of coffee. The coffee snob in me won’t touch flavored coffees, but I do like the occasional mocha flavored treat. In the course of surfing around the web today, I came across a coffee-like product so delicious and unusual sounding, I ordered a bag right away. What was it? CHOFFY! What’s a Choffy?: CHOFFY IS BREWED CHOCOLATE! 100% PREMIUM COCOA BEANS ROASTED AND GROUND TO CREATE A RICH DRINK THAT PROVIDES LONG-LASTING ENERGY AND WHOLE-BODY WELLNESS. Richer and…

News

Set Aside Four Hours to Check Out Every Apple Commercial … Like, Ever

Apple has created some of the most iconic advertising campaigns in history, including the infamous ‘1984’ and ‘Lemmings’ to ‘Think Different’ to ‘I’m a Mac …’ and more. Of course, there are some real clunkers out there as well. They are all available to watch on youtube – and user EveryAppleAds has rounded up the 485 ads into a single playlist … which will take about four hours to watch! But you can just peruse the list and watch a few here or there. It’s definitely worth checking out! Source: via CultOfMac

News

SwannSmart Remote Camera Gives You Piece of Mind

We spend summers and many vacation breaks up in Pennsylvania. Much of the year, however, the house is unoccupied. And while we have neighbors who keep an eye on it for us, there’s nothing like seeing for ourselves that everything is okay. The SwannSmart camera should let us do that and a whole lot more. Best of all, set up is simple and quick. As the company explains, the SwannSmart harnesses the power of the cloud to free you from the constraints of a traditional IP camera. There’s no complicated network set up required and your video feeds can be…

eBooks

Barnes and Noble and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Fictionwise Shutdown

The Barnes and Noble transition of Fictionwise and eReader to NOOK has been steadily going from bad to worse. First, they had difficulties moving books to the NOOK platform. Then, a huge swath of customers (including both Judie and I) received an error message that our email addresses were not recognized. The Thanksgiving holiday intervened, but it doesn’t look like anyone has even attempted to fix these errors since last week! I emailed Barnes and Noble last week, and was told “We’re working on it.” Yesterday, my curiosity got the better of me and I tried my initial email and…

Reviews

ecbc Javelin Daypack Review

A must have for every gear junky is a good gear bag. I have been carrying the Everki Titan Backpack for quite a while. I love the bag, but since I am not using a laptop anymore, it is just too large. I actually quit carrying a bag at all of late because of the over kill for my needs. All I carry now is a tablet, but also have some odds and ends that need to travel with me, just not as much as I did when I was using a laptop. A smaller, lighter gear bag is definitely…

Game Diary, Reviews

Reveal the Maze Pro for iPhone Review

Type of app: Maze / puzzle game Platform/where to buy: iPhone; available in the App Store Developer: Yigit Turkeri Description: Have you ever been in a real maze? Forget about all of the other maze games that you have seen before. We invite you to a real maze experience. While increasing your field of view with 13 different items and trying to get to the exit, avoid harmful items and earn points by collecting coins as much as possible. With the suggestions you will make on our website, you decide the concepts of the new maps. • 108 levels in…

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