2012

Rock Radio Dies Again in NYC

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… Sadly, it looks like rock fans in the New York area have been fooled twice. Just a few short months ago, rock radio returned to the area, but apparently there wasn’t much interest. Instead of rock ‘n roll, 101.9 has gone from playing music to {sob} playing sports talk radio! From The Top 22: The rumors were true: New Rock 101.9 was never in it for the long haul as investors apparently want out. CBS snaps it up at a fire sale price to make for an FM home for legendary…

News & Features

Special Holiday Pricing Available on Pivothead HD Recording Sunglasses

I LOVE the Pivothead HD Recording Sunglasses that I reviewed last month and used while in Cuba two weeks ago. They are comfortable, look good AND they record amazingly clear video. You can check out our full review of them here and see how they work in this video. At $350, the glass aren’t cheap — although I have paid close to that for sunglasses that were simply… hum… sunglasses. And now that Pivothead has announced special holiday pricing, they are even more accessible. That’s right, Pivothead has dropped the price of their HD Recording Sunglasses by $50. And they will…

Outdoors

My Hurricane Sandy Survival Gear

I started this post prior to losing power Monday night. In the middle of writing it, the power went out … and it stayed out until late Thursday night. We had no heat or electric; because we are on a well and septic system, we had no water. We had no internet and no phones either, since I had insisted we get rid of our landline a few years ago (Oops!). We, however, were among the lucky ones. We had no property damage, and the two trees that came down fell as perfectly as if I had actually planned the…

Game Diary, Reviews

Wreck-It Ralph Film Review

Set in the video game realm, the fast-paced animated adventure-comedy Wreck-It Ralph has touching emotions that succeed where Toy Story started – entertaining audiences while making them care about inanimate objects as strong characters within engaging environments. John C. Reilly voices the main character Wreck-It Ralph, an original character with echoes of Donkey Kong and Hulk who has become tired of his bad guy role in the classic “Fix-it Felix” arcade game. As the game celebrates their 30th year in existence, Ralph takes life-changing steps that take audiences further into the video game realm where electric outlets and cords provide…

Reviews

AirPivothead Wireless Storage System, Review

As image and video files grow larger and larger, having as much storage available as possible becomes increasingly important. That’s why I always encourage people to buy devices with the most storage they can afford. It is also why we are so fond of Seagate’s GoFlex Satellite drive (read the review). If, however, you want extra storage for your iPad, iPhone or similar movie device, but are looking for something smaller and less expensive you might want to check out the AirPivothead. This diminutive device lets you wirelessly upload, download and stream files. And, since it relies on the SD…

Vehicles & Gear

Fiat 500 Abarth an Italian ‘Hottie’

When I first reviewed the Fiat 500 last year I found the new little import to be fun and quirky but it lacked one important aspect – performance. Ladies and gentlemen, I now give you the Fiat 500 Abarth. Embodying the “small but wicked” spirit of namesake Karl Abarth’s hot little Fiats in the 1960s (something akin to John Cooper’s hotrodded Minis back in the day) the modern Abarth brings to the model line everything the base model is lacking for driving enthusiasts. Right off one sees the styling upgrades along with unique paint and logo applications that adorn not…

News & Features

Orbino Will Wrap Your iPhone 5 and iPad mini in Sumptuous Leather

Yeah … gaze on that amazing piece of leather art for just a moment. I’ll wait … One of the many reasons that I enjoy using iOS devices is because Apple’s hardware is so elegant; if that wasn’t reason enough to stay loyal, add in the fact that accessory manufacturers seem to love designing their goods for Apple products. And if there is one thing that you all should know about me by now, it’s that I do so love a good accessory. miniPadova in Pecan Dan and I have been pretty vocal about how much we love Orbino’s Padova line of…

Editorials

Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD Sales Surge, Bucking Trends and Challenging the iPad Mini

Image courtesy of Pinoytutorial There is one very clear reason (or rather – TWO) that Apple needed an iPad Mini this year: the success of the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire. I wrote about things I love about each device recently, and I also noted an analyst report that pegged Google-based sales of the device at ~1 million for the second quarter. Turns out that things (as always) aren’t so simple. First off, Amazon went immediately on the attack as Carly noted here, citing that their BEST Kindle Fire HD sales came after the iPad Mini announcement. Amazon said: “Wednesday…

Editorials

Google Election Tool Helps You Map Out Your Voting Plans

In case you haven’t visited Facebook lately, Election Day is fast approaching, and things are getting increasingly bitter and partisan (and less truthful if what I am seeing is any indication). The reason for this is pretty clear: people feel this election is incredibly important for any number of reasons. And it is – in fact they ALL are. We focus on the huge national election, and yet things like the quality of your local schools are much more impacted by the choices of your state and local government. So a while ago as my wife and I were discussing…

Game Diary

Nintendo Wii U – Will You Be Getting One?

The Nintendo Wii U media blitz has kicked into high gear now. The official Wii U Facebook page! The special incentives like the deluxe digital promotion! The countdown to November 18! Are you hooked? Thinking about buying? Here are the facts: This new Wii U next generation, high definition game console will release on November 18, 2012 in two versions: A white colored basic set (8 GB internal storage), Wii U GamePad controller, GamePad stylus, sensor bar, console AC adapter, GamePad AC adapter, and HDMI cable for $299.99. A black colored deluxe set (32 GB storage), Wii U GamePad…

Music Diary, News & Features

One of Five Albums (yep, 20%) Sold Last Week Was Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’

Last year I was very vocal about calling shenanigans over the way Lady Gaga used a $0.99 ‘giveaway’ on Amazon.com to basically game her way to ‘selling’ over 1 million albums. It has been documented ad nauseam that the ‘record industry of old’ is dead, but that execs at the three remaining majors try to continue pushing their hand-crafted ‘stars’ and product … to ever shrinking annual sales. This week we get the exception that proves the rule – Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’ sold ~1.21 million copies, the most in a single week since Eminem in 2002. First some background. Every…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Apple Releases iOS 6.0.1, Available Now as an OTA Update

There was wide speculation that Apple would time the release of the 6.0.1 update to match the launch of the iPad Mini, and that is exactly what has happened. If you head to your Software Update settings screen you will see the update is available. Here are the updates: •Fixes a bug that prevents iPhone 5 from installing software updates wirelessly over the air •Fixes a bug where horizontal lines may be displayed across the keyboard •Fixes an issue that could cause camera flash to not go off •Improves reliability of iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation) when connected…

Gear Bits, News & Features

New Amazon Android App Lets You Update Your Photos to Your Amazon Cloud

Everyone wants to get you storing your files and photos on their service, because that gets you into their ecosystem and infrastructure. So with Apple there is iCloud, Google has Google+ and others, DropBox and others offer auto-uploads, and Amazon has their own Cloud Drive. Now Amazon has an app that manages your photos and automatically uploads them to your Cloud Drive and can share to Facebook and other sites. Here is the description: Never lose the photos from your phone again. Get 5 GB of free storage to protect and store your phone’s photos with Amazon Cloud Drive. Access…

Gear Bits

A Visual Guide to the Freakin’ Huge US Cellular Samsung Galaxy Note II

In my review of the US Cellular Samsung Galaxy SIII (SGS3) last month, I noted that “there is no doubt about it – the Galaxy S III is HUGE. As in ‘sticks out of my pocket like a pocket protector’ big”. I have had the SGS3 fall out of my shirt pocket several times leaning over to feed the dogs, and have learned to alternate between my shirt and pants pockets depending on what I was doing. I have mostly adapted, but the SGS3 is a very large device … well, unless you compare it with the Samsung Galaxy Note…

Editorials

5 Reasons (Each) Why I Love the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HD

I have been highly critical of Android tablets (shock, I know) for a number of reasons, and 7″ tablets in specific. But as has been pointed out, I also tout enjoying the Google Nexus 7 quite a bit for a number of reasons. I was also the last one holding on to my launch-day Kindle Fire from last year, and pre-ordered and have happily kept the Kindle Fire HD. All of that screams ‘cognitive dissonance’ to me, so I thought it was worth explaining – and what better way than to list a bunch of things I love about each…

News & Features

Should the New York City Marathon Be Cancelled?

Sunday is the New York City Marathon. This is a huge event, with 40,000 runners, several thousand volunteers, and countless spectators. Unfortunately, New York was hit extremely hard by Hurricane Sandy, and many runners are unable to make it to the city, or facing difficulties with hotel rooms, transportation, and logistics. Despite the devastation, the mayor of New York and New York Road Runners want the race to continue…but many are wondering if it’s worthwhile! Competitor.com’s editor Mario Fraoli had a great editorial on why the marathon shouldn’t be run at the tail end of such a disastrous week: New…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Watch Your Inbox for the iTunes Settlement Credit!

This morning I got the settlement details from the class action suit against Apple for selling gift cards that were based on a number of songs with an assumed $0.99 price even after the price increase of many songs to $1.29. (note, I’ve already redeemed my code, but nice try anyway!) Here are a couple of snippets from the FAQ: First the background behind the lawsuit: The Lawsuit claimed that Apple advertised, distributed, and sold gift cards which stated that songs could be purchased at Apple’s online iTunes Store for a price of 99¢ per song. It further alleged that…

Gear Bits

In Defense of Landlines

This week had a rough start here in New Jersey. Something like 80% of the state lost power, and we were no exception in our household. While we don’t have a landline, we do have cell phones, and were extremely grateful to never lose signal, even as cable and then electricity dropped. Our neighbor across the street wasn’t so lucky, and she barely had enough signal to send text messages. My parents somehow managed to keep both cable and AND electricity, but they had intermittent landline and cell phone issues all day. However, the one lesson I took from this…

Game Diary, News & Features

Disney Acquires LucasFilm, Including Movies and LucasArts Gaming Division

If you could name one company better and bigger at monetizing franchises than LucasFilm, it would have to be Disney. So perhaps it is fitting that the ‘House of Mouse’ that also owns Buzz & Woody and Marvel’s Avengers has taken on the Skywalker clan and Dr. Jones. Here are some details from BusinessWeek: Disney paid $7 billion for animation studio Pixar in 2006 and bought Marvel Entertainment in 2009 for $4.2 billion, adding the creators of “Toy Story,” and “The Avengers” to the company’s library. The Lucas acquisition brings the “Star Wars” pictures, which have generated $4.54 billion in…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Cool Video of James Brown, Michael Jackson and Prince on Stage in 1983!

Sometimes when checking out yet another random ‘list of stuff’ you will find a gem … and here is yet another cool video as a result! It is a 1983 James Brown performance, in which he calls Michael Jackson to the stage and later Prince. Michael and Prince are still reaching the height of their powers, whereas elder statesman JB was about to have his last big hit with ‘Living in America’ the following year. Regardless, it is a magical moment captured on film of sketchy quality, but definitely worth watching! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hPK12SymqeQ Source: BuzzFeed

Gear Bits

If You’ve ‘Gotta Know’, Here is How to Check iPad Mini Status at UPS or FedEx

If you head to Apple to check the status of your iPad Mini order obsessively, you will notice that all you see is ‘preparing for shipment’. This has stuck while credit cards were billed, Smart Covers have already been ordered … and November 2nd is rapidly approaching! Don’t worry – if your order is due on November 2nd it is already well on the way. For some reason, Apple just doesn’t provide the links! Here (thanks to Cult of Mac) how you can see where your iPad mini is right now: 1. Go to UPS.com’s Track By Reference Page, or…

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