Articles by Perry Brauner

Still Looking to Pre-Order an Xbox One or PS4? NowInStock.net May Help

Every time a new generation of gaming consoles is released, there tends to be great buzz and excitement as fans start pre-ordering their devices. As is the case almost every time, retailers start selling out of the first shipment of consoles very quickly. If you’re still looking to pre-order, check out NowInStock.net which can alert you when pre-orders become available. I, like many consumers, was on the hunt for an Xbox One pre-order. If you navigate to NowInStock.net’s Xbox One page, it lists all available packages, bundles, etc. and lets you know where you can order them. You’re also able to…

How to Do It Yourself!

How-To Quickly and Easily Use This Low-Fi Method to Boost Your WiFi Signal

The WiFi signal in our bedroom has been terrible ever since we moved into our new home. Due to where the Verizon FIOS service enters the house, the wireless router is on the opposite side of the house, and I’ve tried many WiFi extenders to no avail. Finally, my brother-in-law recommended the Windsurfer parabolic WiFi reflector, and it works beautifully! The instructions included in the website linked above are very simple, and all you need is some printer paper, aluminum foil, scissors or an X-Acto knife, and either some tape or glue. You download the template from the website linked above,…

Game Diary

Xbox From the Cloud? Microsoft is Working on it

“The cloud” is a popular concept. We have terabytes upon terabytes of data stored in “the cloud,” which is really just a data farm of servers in the middle of nowhere. It’s a great way to keep personal files available wherever you are. What if you could stream Xbox games from the cloud? Word is, Microsoft is working on it. It appears that Microsoft is beginning to build it’s own cloud gaming service. Microsoft has begun internal testing of their service and showed it off in an internal meeting. The Verge tells us that the folks at Microsoft were streaming…

Gear Bits

Valve’s SteamOS Announced for Computer Gaming in the Living Room

Today, Valve announced its SteamOS, which is built for computer gamers who want to bring their gaming experience into the living room. The free Linux-powered operating system will have a user interface that was built for use on a big screen HDTV and for viewing from the couch. Valve tells us to stay tuned for a release date, soon. One of the highlighted features of SteamOS is its in-home streaming, which promises to be able to stream any of your games from any computer in your house to your HDTV over your home network. This means that you will not…

Gear Bits

Superhot Becomes Fastest Game to Be Greenlit on Steam

In non-Grand Theft Auto V related gaming news, a new browser-based shooting game is creating some buzz. Superhot is a first-person shooter where time only moves when you do. Therefore, if you’re standing still, time moves extremely slowly. This brings a very cool sneaking aspect into the game. Superhot has been greenlit for addition to Steam by the Steam community. Be on the lookout for upcoming news as to Superhot’s release, but in the meantime, check out the trailer below and click this link to play the short teaser game now! Superhot has become the fastest game ever to be…

Reviews

SmartWallit Review – Time to Upgrade Your Billfold

SmartWallit is a new gadget that helps you keep track of not only your spending, but also the location of your wallet. This intelligent accessory has many functions, including a spending log, loss prevention, and a way to find your lost phone or wallet. You can order the SmartWallit from Amazon for $60 plus shipping. I was very excited to get my hands on this neat little device and stick it in my wallet. Unfortunately, the SmartWallit was a little bigger than I thought it would be. Like 90% of the guys I know, I stick my wallet in my…

How to Do It Yourself!

First Things First – What to Do After Updating to iOS 7

Installing a new operating system to your iPhone or iPad almost feels like getting a new phone. It looks completely different and has a bunch of cool new features. An upgraded operating system can breathe life into an older phone. iOS 7 is treating me very well so far, but there are a few things I recommend doing first. Turn on Automatic App Updates. This will automatically update your apps as the updates become available. There’s no need to worry about burning through your cellular data because there’s an option to turn off automatic updating while using cellular data. This…

Gear Bits

When to Expect the iOS 7 Update on Your iDevice

Heads-up iPhone and iPad users! Before you rabidly start checking your phone for the iOS 7 update, keep in mind that Apple has typically released big iOS updates around 10:00 am Pacific Time. This means for those on the East Coast, iOS 7 should be ready for installing around 1:00pm. This has been a public service announcement. In the meantime, to help feed your iOS hunger, you can check out all the upgrades and enhancements that iOS 7 will bring on Apple’s website.

Gear Bits

High Praise for Grand Theft Auto V Starts Rolling In

The highly-anticipated open world epic drops tomorrow, 9/17, but it has already received some mighty praise today. With a video game as hyped and extremely controversial as GTA V, you might think that it may be hard to blow reviewers away, but you’d be wrong! GTA V hits stores tomorrow for $59.99 on Xbox 360 and PS3. IGN has rated Grand Theft Auto V a 10 out of 10, and call it a “Masterpiece.” The Verge calls GTA V the “best game in the series to date” in their highly praising review. Joystiq gave the fifth installment in the Grand…

Gear Bits

Feed your Child’s Imagination with FarFaria’s Digital Library

FarFaria is a children’s book app for the iPad that has made reading to your children at bedtime easier than ever. FarFaria is packed with over 450 full-color children’s stories for kids aged 2-9. FarFaria is free to download, and you can read one full book per day; a $3.99 monthly subscription will get you access to unlimited reading. Using an interactive story discovery experience, FarFaria allows children to browse the exciting, colorful world of many areas. The areas inside the world of FarFaria include the Animal Kingdom, Adventure Island, Fairytale Forest, Classics Grove, Singalong City, and more. As one…

Gear Bits

13.56 Multifunctional NFC Wristband Hits Kickstarter Today

This is a pretty cool concept for all those NFC fanatics out there. This wristband, designed by ThirteenFiftySix out of Spain, can control many functions of your smartphone including turning off your alarm, unlocking the phone, unlocking private folders, sharing your contact information, controlling your music, and more. A £25 pledge will land you an NFC wristband of your own. Also, for a very limited time, the first 200 backers who choose the “Pay What You Wish” category can pay whatever they think is fair for the 13.56 NFC wristband. This wristband seems to have unlimited possibilities since the NFC technology…

Crowdfunding, Gear Bits

Phonebloks – Groundbreaking Smartphone Idea, Pipe Dream, or Both?

Phonebloks is a conceptual solution to a very real problem. Electronic waste is a big concern, as today’s electronics are not built to last. Phonebloks is a concept that uses interchangeable “bloks” that can be switched out when it either fails or you’re in the mood for an upgrade. But can this seemingly simple idea really be produced? With this design, you can theoretically just swap in and out any number of components from the camera, processor, gyroscope, memory, WiFi, even the screen and replace them wherever you’d like on the base. Sounds like an incredibly simple way to fully…

Crowdfunding

JUICIES+ Lightning and Micro USB Power Cables Looking for Funding on Kickstarter Now

The folks at Juicies may have come up with a way to improve upon Apple’s lightening cables as well as the typical Micro USB cable. The JUICIES+ cable is made of anodized aluminum, wrapped in a tangle-free woven cable, and is a foot longer than the typical power cables. A $20 Kickstarter pledge lands you one power cable of the future. Project Title: JUICIES+ for iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phones Status: Currently Funding Closing Date for Funding: 11/1/13 URL of the Project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laudowicz/juicies-for-iphone-android-blackberry-and-windows Product Overview: JUICIES+ incorporate a few great cable designs that I’ve been looking for in a…

Gear Bits

GearTag Helps Ensure You Never Lose Track of Your Gear Again

GearTag, now funding on Kickstarter, is a neat way to keep track of your gear. These small wireless tags can be clipped to a purse, tucked into a wallet, or attached to your keyring. From your smartphone or computer, you can ‘page’ your tag or view it’s last known location. Reserve yours for a $30 pledge. GearTags use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to communicate with your smartphone. This uses little battery life while also giving you a range of 100 yards. Each GearTag has it’s own unique QR code printed on one side, like a fingerprint. If the tag…

Gear Bits

Custom Video Game Covers Class Up Your Video Game Library

I can’t imagine I’m the only guy who’s video game library outnumbers his actual book library 2-to-1. I also can’t imagine I’m the only guy who’s wife would prefer he keep his video game library downstairs, out of sight. For $6, you get 3 custom video game covers from Etsy. Now my video games can look like a librarian’s paradise! In exchange for your $6 JamesBit will provide you with a PDF of your customized video game covers for you to print out at home. If you have a ton of disks that need new, classier covers, he will drop…

Gear Bits

HDMI 2.0 Announced, Supports 4K Video at 60fps, 32 Channel Audio

HDMI Forum, Inc. announced a new upgrade to the HDMI connection standard, today. HDMI 2.0 will have a bandwidth capacity of up to 18Gbps, enough room to transmit 4K video up to 60 fps, which is 2160p. This is 4x the clarity of the current 1080p video resolution. It will also carry support for up to 32 audio channels. This is big news considering the expected boom in Ultra HDTVs in the near future. Additional features of HDMI 2.0 include “dynamic auto lipsync” and additional CEC extensions. The new HDMI 2.0 connectors will remain unchanged from the original HDMI specification,…

Reviews

MyTVChoice Review – How to Watch Live TV Without Commercials

Are you a sports fan who can’t stand sitting through annoying TV commercials? Or are you afraid of your children seeing some of the more explicit commercials airing these days? MyTVChoice monitors the live broadcast and automatically switches to a “safe” channel whenever your preferred program goes to commercial. The MyTVChoice service costs $9.99 per month. Hardware MyTVChoice comes with a free gateway device, which is powered by an AC adapter plugged into the wall. You’ll want the gateway to have a clear line of sight to your cable box since it is what will eventually change the channel automatically for…

Gear Bits

PhatWare’s WritePad for iOS Adds Google Drive Sync Functionality

WritePad, a note taking and handwriting recognition app for iPad and iPhone has just added Google Drive syncronization funcationality, allowing you to take hand-written notes on your iPhone or iPad and automatically sync them to Google Drive. This brings the number of cloud services that WritePad syncs with to 6! WritePad goes for $8.99 on iPad and $3.99 on iPhone. WritePad, using PhatWare’s handwriting recognition software, can understand the user’s handwriting in their own style and convert it to computer text. WritePad also syncs with other cloud services such as: Box, DropBox, Evernote, Google Drive, iCloud, and Skydrive. WritePad also…

Gear Bits

New Cable Transfers Photos From iPhone 5 to iPad 1, 2, or 3 in a Flash

USB-Fever.com has just released a new cable to directly connect your iPhone 5 to your iPad 1, 2, or 3. The cable has a lightning connector on one side and a dock connector on the other. Once you plug in your iDevices, you can transfer your photos back and forth with ease. This cable retails for $12.99. If you want to physically transfer your photos from a lightning connector device to a 30 pin dock connector device, without using Photo Stream, this appears to be a very easy way to accomplish that. There are ways to email multiple photos, as…

Gear Bits

I’m Batman? Petition to Remove Ben Affleck from Upcoming Man of Steel Sequel Garners Over 50,000 Supporters

Let’s face it, this whole Ben Affleck as Batman thing has been wayyy overblown, hasn’t it? Nobody thought that Heath Ledger would provide such a legendary performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight, in fact, most of the population who had an opinion on the matter thought that the casting of the Brokeback Mountain star was a joke! Well, once again, the internet is up in arms and a petition has been posted to Change.org asking Warner Bros. to remove Ben Affleck as Batman from the upcoming Man of Steel sequel. I, for one, am slightly concerned considering what…

Game Diary, News

Plants vs. Zombies 2 Released on iOS Today!

Popcap and EA Games have teamed up to bring you the greatly anticipated follow-up to the original Plants vs. Zombies. The premise of the Plants vs. Zombies series is that you’re a homeowner who is trying to defend his house against a horde of the undead. Your weapon? Plants. Good Luck! Plants vs. Zombies 2 is out now for free on the App Store. After a lengthy beta testing period and a soft launch in New Zealand, Plants vs. Zombies 2 is finally available to all of us Americans. This time, instead of only defending your own home from the…

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