2013

RIM Unveils Their Blackberry 10 at the Blackberry Experience in NYC

It is RIM’s last hope to stay afloat. After hyping the BlackBerry Playbook and banking on its success RIM has continued to stumble. Even hardcore BB-user like Elana and her brother have left their BlackBerries and moved to other platforms. And as for the Playbook not being a hit, when the company that made their chops on messaging releases a tablet without a native email client, how could it possibly succeed? So RIM has developed and entirely new operating system and is formally showing off the OS and the devices to run it. I’m in Manhattan for the Blackberry Experience…

Reviews

ZAGGkeys MINI 7 for the iPad mini Review

Judie: As is often the case, both of us ordered the new iPad mini the day it became available. Truth be told, neither of us expected that much from the device. Sure, we expected it would be nice to have the smaller and lighter iPad we had longed for, but we never expected what happened next. We didn’t just like the iPad mini, we both loved it — within short order it replaced our larger iPads. Dan: It took about a day before the iPad mini became my primary iPad. While I enjoy the 9.7″ iPad with retina display, it stays…

Reviews

Mapi Case Perga for the iPad mini Review

Since I got the iPad mini, I have been looking for an elegant way to carry and protect it. The first thing I did was put a Bodyguardz Armor protective film on the back and a screen protector on the screen. Still, as much as I love using the iPad mini in as thin and light a manner as possible, I am carrying the tablet everywhere, and I need a higher degree of protection than the films alone provide. Until recently I was using a Bodyguardz Sentinel case. It is a nice, simple folio case, and I have enjoyed having…

Outdoors, Reviews

Dorcy LED Headlamp Review

I’ll admit that the first time Kev slipped his headlamp on to go do something outside in the dark, I smirked. Why not just carry a flashlight? Why go out of your way to look like a coal miner or a caver? I’m being facetious, of course. I totally understood why he would want to be able to do things outside handsfree, but there’s no getting around the fact that wearing a headlamp makes you look a little silly. Only, you are the one getting the last laugh. If you have a headlamp on, it’s like you’ve grown an extra…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Apple Introduces 128GB iPad 4, Pricing as You Would Expect

For the past couple of years everyone has wondered when Apple would come out with a 128GB iPhone or iPad, and last fall I think that many were genuinely surprised that the iPad 4 didn’t up the capacity. Well, now we have our answer … and it comes in the form of the 128GB iPad 4. The announcement came today, and the new version of the iPad 4 is going to be available starting Tuesday, February 5. According to a press release from Apple, the main focus is a sort of ‘Pro’ version of the iPad for the Enterprise –…

Events, Music Diary, News & Features

Prophet 12 Synthesizer by Dave Smith Introduced at NAMM 2013

One of the first synths I did serious work on was the Prophet 5. That synth was introduced by Sequential Circuits in 1978 as one of the first polyphonic instruments, but the reason it is still popular is the amazing sounds. The Prophet 5 was the brain-child of Sequential Circuits founder Dave Smith. If that name sounds familiar it is because Smith is also known as the ‘Father of MIDI’, and I recently wrote about the 30th anniversary of MIDI. After Yamaha bought Sequential Circuits in 1987, Smith went on to head up the new US research lab for Korg…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Apple Releases iOS 6.1 with iTunes Match Song Downloads and More

Have you ever just wanted to download ONE song from an album on iTunes Match so you can listen on the go? It simply didn’t happen … until now! Today Apple released iOS 6.1 with a number of improvements (and likely even more unannounced improvements). These include support for 36 additional LTE carriers for iPhone (23 for iPad), individual song downloads, Siri interaction with Fandango, and more. One unstated improvement in iOS 6.1 is found in Passbook. Previously, when you started the app for the first time an introduction was displayed. You were then sent to the iTunes App Store…

Gear Bits, How to Do It Yourself!

How to Listen to Text on Your iOS Device

Remember the commercial that went something like “Reading is fundamental”? It is but there are some times when it is far better to listen to an email or a document than read it. I had done this via an iOS app but then I learned that iPhones, iPads and iPod touches have the capability built right into the operating system as part of Apple’s commitment to accessibility for those who are impaired for any reason. In this case the functionality is perfect for those whose sight is poor but it work just fine, for example, when I want to listen…

Reviews

Aranez Ascend Case for the iPad mini Review

We’ve reviewed a number of products from Aranez.com including some iPhone and iPad cases and, most recently, a case for the Samsung Galaxy S3. Many of the cases we have used from the company are crafted from kangaroo leather, which is soft, supple and both looks and feels great. This time out we are looking at the first iPad mini case from the company. A folio-style case, the Ascend is made from cow leather, but it is immediately recognizable as an Aranez product thanks to the clean lines, contrasting stitching and, of course, the Aranez name on the front cover’s…

Reviews

Mophie Outride Review

We take our iPhones absolutely everywhere. Mophie knows this, and they’ve made their name in offering extended batteries and battery cases. But now they are branching out and pushing more than just batteries. They know you want your iPhone to record the really amazing parts of life-the “Oh man, I wish you could see this”, the “Whoo hoo, that was fun!” and yes, the “Oh crap, I can’t believe I am doing this” adventures. So they created the Mophie Outride, a rugged case, app and mount system so you can record anything, anywhere. Preferably in a place where you would…

Health and Fitness

It is Cool to Run in an Arctic Blast!-The Monday Mile

This past week was a deep freeze for much of the northern and eastern parts of the country. In our area the temperature when I went out for my morning runs was sub-zero on four days, only creeping up to +2 on Friday. Adding in wind-chill, morning temperatures in the dark were about -10 to -15 degrees F. If you believe my Facebook timeline, I am clearly insane for going out running in these temperatures. And while I am not complaining as the morning temperatures are predicted for 20s and 30s this week, I was never too cold last week,…

News & Features

Windows 8 Pro $40 Upgrade Sale Ends 1/31/13

Microsoft’s sale of Windows 8 Pro for only $40 ends on Thursday. If you haven’t taken advantage of the sale, time is quickly running out! If you’ve purchased a Windows 8 (Sadly, not Windows RT) tablet, ultrabook or other computer and you attempt to upgrade directly through the “Add Features To Windows” function, you do not get this discount, and the Pro upgrade price is $70. However, if you have a, XP, Vista or Windows 7 computer that you can run the Windows Upgrade Assistant on, you can purchase the upgrade from your computer, and then STOP and not download the Windows…

Editorials

Cyberlink Ultra FAIL!

I’ve been working to recover from a major hard drive crash. Fortunately, I knew it was coming…those telltale crashes from nowhere and other glitchy warnings. I have what I thought was a pretty safe backup set up, and so I haven’t “lost” anything exactly. I got my backup drive up and running, but decided that I was going to take the plunge and prepare a different drive to upgrade to Windows 8. To get ready, I got a different hard drive, and did a completely clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate. I’ve actually never done that before. My backups all…

Gear Bits, Music Diary

Check Out Three Excellent Rare John Coltrane Live Performances

One of the amazing things for me about YouTube and Facebook is how folks on Facebook will recommend a YouTube video or site with an embedded video that leads you to something even greater. That happened this morning, as a Facebook friend recommended checking out a stellar John Coltrane version of ‘My Favorite Things’, which I did … but then it led me to this site that had an even BETTER find: a collection of three televised concerts of John Coltrane from the 1960s. Coltrane rose to fame as a saxophone sideman for Miles Davis’ legendary ‘first great quintet’. His…

Game Diary, News & Features

Crysis 3 Multiplayer Beta Begins January 29

The open multiplayer beta for the sandbox shooter Crysis 3 game starts January 29 on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 where players can battle the corrupt Cell Corporation. Players can try out the new superpowered Nanosuit, which features cloaking, vision, and armor properties. Players also get two team-based modes (eight in full game), two maps (12 in full game) and the new New York social feed, which lets players share their accomplishments. This beta ends on February 12. Besides the nanosuit, players will encounter powerful equipment and weapons including the typhoon assault rifle that fires 500 rounds per second….

Reviews

Tom Bihn Brain Bag with Camera I-O and Accessories Review

If you are looking for a small, light backpack you can stop reading now. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a backpack that is large, flexible, comfortable to carry and tough enough to last and last keep reading. Tom Bihn’s Brain Bag is a pricey backpack that is large and flexible enough to serve as a weekender, as a camera backpack or as a laptop backpack. On second thought, the Tom Bihn backpack is large and flexible enough to serve all of those functions at the very same time. The company was kind enough to send over…

Reviews

8Gadget Pack Review – Bring Back Sidebar Gadgets to Windows 8

I know not everyone is enamored of the Windows Sidebar and Gadgets, but I use them all the time, on every computer I own. I like the CPU monitoring as well as Hard Disk monitoring, so that I can easily see at a glance if my computer is doing something in the background, or if it is really frozen and needs a restart. This is especially true on my Windows 8 Atom tablet, which is much slower at processing things that my i7 desktop and laptop! 8Gadget Pack is a free utility that you can install to bring back the…

News & Features

CTA Digital Pedestal Stand for iPad Keeps You Connected in the Bathroom

Admit it. Many of you have surreptitiously or otherwise carted your iPad into the bathroom because…well because you just love your iPad and are using it productively, right? Sure you do. The biggest problem in using the iPad in such situations is that human anatomy is at odds with multitasking when responding to the call of nature, and most people I know of only possess a maximum of two hands. What to do to solve the crisis? Why, never fear CTA Digital’s Pedestal Stand for iPad 2/3/4 with Roll Holder is here to solve this dilemma! Standing at about 32″…

Events, Music Diary, News & Features

Korg Introduces 9 New Products at NAMM 2013, Including KingKORG and MS-20 Mini

At the NAMM 2013 show, Korg announced nine (!) new products that all look great – I recommend you head to Korg to get all of the details. But I wanted to highlight two that look super-cool: the MS-20 Mini and KingKORG. The MS-20 Mini is the reimagining of the classic monophonic synth that we have seen emulated so much recently. The KingKORG is a robust analog modeling synth built for great sound and performance. MS-20 Mini Everyone loves the Korg MS-20, it seems. This 1978 monophonic synth with cable-patching and limited configurations ultimately had one major thing that has…

News & Features

Mobile Jaw Reviews the Samsung ATIV S and Nokia Lumia 920

Last year, Judie and I spent time going deep with Windows Phone 7. We put our iPhones in the drawer and made HTC Titans our only phones. We both liked the experience, but ultimately returned to our iPhones. When Microsoft sunset Windows Phone 7.5 just weeks after releasing the Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone I was not impressed. It was a kick in the face of those who were early adopters of Windows Phone. I really thought I was be done with Windows Phone forever. I wasn’t. Judie wasn’t either. In fact, when HTC and Microsoft released the flagship of…

Events, Reviews

Spigen SGP Coated Backpack Video Review

While visiting with Spigen SGP during CES 2013, their Coated Backpack caught my eye. We’ve reviewed — and been impressed by — cases and screen protectors from Spigen SGP, but we had not previously encountered any of their larger offerings. They were kind enough to hand me one of the backpacks on the spot, and I used it the next day while walking the CES floor. It served me well and left me impressed. The backpack is light and simple but holds a surprisingly large amount of gear. Designed to hold laptops, tablets, smartphones and a host of accessories to…

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