2012 | Gear Diary

Roamz Gives You ‘Social Goggles for the Real World’

If you are anything like me you, then are connected to numerous social networking accounts. When you have more than just a few services spitting information at you, it becomes difficult to keep them all straight. But even worse is the fact that all this information is available through the various social networking outlets and, well, and it is pretty much useless. Sure, Twitter and Facebook let me keep up with my friends and even see what some non-friends are doing. But there has to be some way to actually put all that information to use. That’s what Roamz seeks…

Reviews

Blurex Google Nexus 7 Folio Case Review

Image courtesy of Amazon Android devices are usually pretty slow to adopt cases and accessories compared to the mind numbing amount available for Apple devices. If you picked up a shiny new Nexus 7 tablet, and are on the hunt for quality case without breaking the bank, then the Blurex Folio Slim might be the answer. There was nothing available for immediate purchase when the tablet came out, so I picked up a standard pleather folio case off of Amazon for a about $6 to my door. While this case has served me well the poor fit has been pretty…

Reviews

TP-Link AV500 Gigabit Powerline Adapter Starter Kit Review

WiFi, 3G, and 4G connections to our devices have frequently spoiled us with almost universal access to data. Nine times out of ten, if I am connecting to the internet it is in a wireless fashion. However, there’s always that one old desktop that you want to run Linux on or an old non-connected game system. Or maybe you just want to set up another wireless access point on the second floor of your home, but you don’t have a wire or a way to run a wire through your wall. That’s all changed with devices like TP-Link’s AV500 Gigabit Powerline…

News & Features

Flipside Sport 10LAW Camera Backpack Review

This review is a continuation of our series of camera bag reviews. Thus far we’ve taken a look at two bags from Think Tank Photo (the Streetwalker Backpack and the Retrospective 7), one from Lowepro (the Urban Sling), and another from Tenba (the Photo/Laptop Messenger). This time out we are looking at the Lowepro Flipside Sport 10L AW. This backpack-style camera case is one of the more “activity-specific” bags we have seen. It is intended for photographers who lead an active life and are looking for a bag that is good for carrying just enough camera gear, a water bottle…

Music Diary, News & Features

Is Dubstep Actually Avant Garde Genius?

Here is an interesting thought – Dubstep represents a culmination of a century of development in avant garde music mixed with already familiar movements in dance, punk and jazz. That is the tack taken by PBSIdeas that explains the historical context around the development of non-harmonic electronic music over the last century. Here is the text attached to the video. Dubstep. Is. Awesome. While some people may hear noise, we hear amazing musical genius. The aural creativity of Dubstep, and its embrace of inharmonic sounds, makes it the most recent member of the long-established Avant Garde community. There is a…

Music Diary, News & Features

GE Engineer Composes with the Sounds of Engine Knock

I don’t recall when I first heard ‘industrial music’, but it was probably in the late 1970s when I first heard the group Throbbing Gristle on the local Harvard College radio station. I was attracted to some artists in the genre who would incorporate ‘musique concrete’ into their works – recordings of actual street or industrial noise, or bringing pipes and sheet metal and other noise-making apparatus into the studio. But imagine that someone working in an industrial situation took the sounds all around him from his everyday life and turned it into music. That is exactly what GE engineer…

Game Diary, Reviews

‘Lost Souls: The Enchanted’ Paintings HD for iPad Review

Imagine receiving a mysterious package with a pleasant painting inside that your child finds captivating. He asks to hang it in his room, but then the next day you awake to find you child gone. It is the nightmare for any parent, and it is the opening scene of the newly released Lost Souls: Enchanted Paintings HD from G5 Entertainment. Let’s take a look and see how this hidden object game plays out! The Hype: Rescue a missing boy and immerse yourself in this breathtaking adventure! Get new G5 games for up to 40% off! Sign up for the G5…

Gear Bits, Music Diary, News & Features

Dave Chisholm Releases ‘Bonus Track’ for Calligraphy

As 2011 ended I reviewed Dave Chisholm’s ‘Calligraphy’ and had this to say: ‘Calligraphy’ surprised me by how much I liked the entire thing. With Radioactive I enjoyed the album, but only truly fell in love with one song that has stuck with me for more than 18 months and countless new releases crossing my iPod. ‘Calligraphy’ has a uniform excellence in composition, playing, and overall execution that will keep it on my iPod and recommended listening list for a long time to come. I can’t wait to see what Dave comes up with next. The album impressed me enough…

Editorials

Watch for Kids in School Zones, Even in Summer Months

My son was hit by a pickup truck a couple of weeks ago, crossing the street when coming home from a school ‘enrichment’ program. He is doing fine – thanks for asking – but it has raised many questions in our area, and it has prompted a look at how we deal with school zones year-round. More on his specifics later. Right now we are at the start of August, which in the Northeast at least is the middle of summer school vacations (I know in some areas it is more like 75% done … sorry), with kids getting out…

Outdoors

Rule 40, #NoBlackout, and Why Olympic Sponsorship is Broken

(the major Olympic sponsors, courtesy Puttles.com) If you follow any track and field athletes on social media, you may have noticed them tweeting with hash tags like #noblackout. Or maybe you saw a flurry of activity a few weeks ago where they frantically sent “one last thanks” to various sponsors. The International Olympic Committee has a blackout on athletes promoting sponsors during the Olympics, which isn’t unreasonable. However, if your sponsor is Nike or Adidas, there is no blackout. In other words, athletes not sponsored by one of these two companies cannot thank the businesses that supported them and brought…

News & Features

Twelve South’s BackPack Shelf for iMac and Apple Displays Gets Refresh and Redesign

Twelve South’s very first Apple-only accessory was the BackPack Shelf for the iMac and pole Display. It is one of those small, unassuming accessories that you might not necessarily NEED, but you can’t do without once you start using it. Now they have gone and made three different enhancements to it. As they note, Three years after Twelve South released BackPack, its very first product, the company unveils an elevated new version of the tiny shelf with three major enhancements. Designed exclusively for iMacs and Apple Displays, BackPack now features vertical support pegs, built-in cable management rails and the option…

News & Features

U.S. Cellular Adding Two Hot New Motorola Phones This Week!

Have you seen the recent U.S. Cellular campaign on Twitter? It is called #HelloBetter and it focuses on recent data showing how dissatisfied most people are with their carriers, and highlights how U.S. Cellular has the highest satisfaction ratings of any carrier. Unfortunately as a regional carrier, only certain folks have access to their service – but if you do, check this out! Recently it seems that smartphone makers are keen to get phones quickly into the hands of U.S. Cellular, as evidenced by the recent Samsung Galaxy SIII release, and now by two hot new phones coming from Motorola…

Editorials

Washington DC Police Chief Issues Reasonable Citizen Cell-Camera Guidelines

If you keep an eye on the news, you probably have heard that the ubiquity of smartphones with capable video cameras in recent years has drastically changed how we view many things. Go to a concert and you will see hundreds (if not thousands) of people videotaping the proceedings; no longer are the aisles at school functions filled with bulky tripods for large camcorders; and if there is an arrest or other criminal activity in progress in a public location you can be sure there is video rolling. Technology has advanced a great deal from 20 years ago and the…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Amazon Instant Video Comes to the iPad!

Yesterday when we talked about Hulu coming to Apple TV, my comment was that if Amazon Instant Video was also available, I would no longer have a need for the Roku. Guess what? Amazon Instant Video is now available! Here is the description: Watch thousands of titles available from Prime Instant Video at no additional cost with an Amazon Prime membership and over 120,000 videos available from the Amazon Instant Video store by installing the Amazon Instant Video app. Download purchased and rented videos from Your Video Library for offline viewing on airplanes, road trips, or any time a WiFi…

Great American Beer Festival in Denver Colorado

Events

Get Your Tickets for the Great American Beer Festival!

If you have a love for hops and tasty craft-brewed adult beverages, then no doubt you’ve heard of The Great American Beer Festival, an event put on by the Brewer’s Association which has become the largest and best known of its kind. The Great American Beer Festival is the premier U.S. beer festival and competition. Each year, GABF represents the largest collection of U.S. beer ever served, in the format of a public tasting event plus a private competition. GABF brings together the brewers and beers that make the U.S. the world’s greatest brewing nation. This event showcases the diverse…

Music Diary, News & Features

Amazon Launches ‘iTunes Match’ Like Update to Cloud Player!

Today on Twitter Amazon announced a significant update to its Cloud Player system, stating: We made some improvements to Amazon Cloud Player today. Have questions? Get them answered here: http://amzn.to/P53LPf Well … since it is Twitter there is little info provided. Here are the basics: Amazon Cloud Player is a service that enables customers to securely store music in the cloud and play it wherever they are on a Kindle Fire, Android phone, Android tablet, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Mac, or PC. Amazon Cloud Player now has more benefits, including: •Faster music import for Cloud Player using scan and match…

Game Diary, Reviews

Letters From Nowhere 2 iPad Game Review

How much did I like the iOS game ‘Letters from Nowhere’ from G5 Games? Enough that after the cliff-hanger ending I immediately went to Big Fish games and grabbed the Mac version of Letters From Nowhere 2! When I heard from G5 they were bringing it to iOS as well, I stopped playing the Mac version and waited … and now I have finished the iPad game. Let’s dig right in! The Hype: Travel to the town of Nowhere and search for clues to remove the terrifying curse in this thrilling and spooky sequel! Audrey collected all the letters with…

Reviews

Satechi 12 Port USB Hub with Power Adapter and 2 Controls Review

When I was using a desktop, I was able to set things up just the way I liked… and leave them that way. I used one of the USB ports on my iMac for an iOS 30-pin cable, one for a printer, one for a high quality microphone and one for a USB hub. That hub connected to a scanner and other assorted devices. Now that I am back to using a laptop as my main… in fact my only… computer I don’t have the luxury of setting things up and then leaving them connected full-time. That’s why I was…

Music Diary

Watch Wynton Marsalis Live Stream from Tonight at 5PM EST!

This one just dropped into my email, so I apologize for the short notice … but tonight at 5PM EST Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra are performing a show with a live stream from Marciac in France. Join me and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in Marciac France for a LIVE performance from the comfort of your living room. We’ll be performing Swing Symphony with Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, under the direction of Wayne Marshall. No passport required! Here is the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra: Wynton Marsalis, trumpet; Ryan Kisor, trumpet; Marcus…

Music Diary, News & Features

Spotify Brings Free Radio to Android!

Last month Spotify launched a free radio service for iOS devices, marking a departure for the company as previously only Premium users ($9.99/month) had access to the service on mobile devices. Today Spotify has launched the free radio for Android devices as well. Here are the details: Play everywhere ? Tap into millions of songs wherever. Just like the desktop, mobile radio has the entire Spotify catalog to choose from. Just create stations ? Create stations based on any artist, album or playlist, and Spotify brings users one great song after another. They can skip a song if they don’t…

Reviews

Rokform Rokstand v1 Desktop Stand Review

There are iPhone and iPad stands, and then THERE ARE iPad and iPhone stands! ApexCarbon was kind enough to send us a RockForm RockStand for review and giveaway and it is, in a word, impressive. Yes, this desktop stand is more than a stand for your iOS device. It is an attention-grabbing sculpture, a conversation starter and, in a word, a piece of art. It is sure to quickly become a favorite. Perhaps best of all, it is also a highly functional stand. Let’s take a look and then… give it away!!!! From Rokform: The Rokform Rokstand v1 Desktop Stand…