The other day I was at Target, and a notification sounded – it wasn’t email, or text, or Game Center or ESPN. In fact I didn’t recognize it at all – so I looked at my phone. It was Foursquare, as shown above. This was a surprise because I couldn’t recall the last time I’d even opened the app!
My wife and I have been trying in vain to keep her dying iPhone 4S alive. Last night, 1/3 of the 4S touchscreen gave up on us, and we conceded defeat and headed to the Verizon store to get her a 5C. Getting the new phone was fun, but it was even more entertaining to listen in on the various conversations and transactions around the store!
Quick, what was your first job? Something entry-level and basic? Would you want to be defined by it, no matter how embarrassing or how much success you’ve enjoyed since then? CNN sure thinks so, based on their ridiculous profile of Kat Cole, the president of Cinnabon. Or, as CNN sought to define her, former “Hooters” waitress.
Last week I placed my order for the second phase Google Glass Explorer Edition, and within two days they were in my hands. Since invitations to purchase the $1500 Glass are still limited, I figured I’d share the unboxing and initial set up experience.
Long ago, I worked in retail. I worked at a large family owned chain here in Ohio called Meijer. Unlike other stores, they are open 364 days a year for 24 hours a day closing only on Christmas. Some retail has always been open on Thanksgiving. The rest of world is changing, and it’s ok.
I love the iPad Air – after a year using the iPad Mini, I was ready for the 9.7″ screen, Retina resolution, the A7 processor power, and getting back to LTE. I was bumping up against the iPad Mini limitations, particularly for gaming and music production. But for all the iPad Air power, I’ve found a new limitation: 1GB RAM. To put it into context, a 2GB chip compared to a 1GB chip adds no more space, weight, heat, doesn’t change layout, and would cost less than $10. The functional role of RAM compared to flash storage is important. Apple…
I haven’t set foot in a Blockbuster Video in at least six years. Yet when news broke this week that the final stores were closing, I felt a little bit sad. The experience of going to the video store was so much more than just clicking a button on a remote, and it made me realize how many great memories I have thanks to Blockbuster. When I think of Blockbuster, my first thought is the store I used to visit in Brighton, MA. I was working for Borders, and my schedule was always way off from my friends, so I…
Joe Stirt, an original Glass Explorer program participant, recently received three invitations he could share; he gave me one. That invite entitled me to purchase a second generation Google Glass device for $1500. Is the tech compelling enough for me to pay to be a beta tester for an unfinished product? I sure hope so — because I mine arrived tonight!
As we look forward to new technology, sometimes it is instructive to look back to our favorites. I recently looked at the Iomega Zip Drive, but now I want to highlight one of my all-time favorite laptops: the HP Omnibook 300. This laptop was built by the calculator division rather than the PC division and remains one of the best.
Samsung is many things – they are an innovative chip maker, excellent device maker, massive company with their hands in nearly everything. Samsung is one of the “chaebol” – family-run conglomerates that dominate South Korean society. They are also a company that has a proven willing to do nearly anything to succeed – and today we learn their latest shameful tactic.
I have a dilemma. While I don’t need to upgrade my iPad 3, I have the “I want a new tablet” itch, and it looks like the newly updated iPad mini will fit the bill nicely. The real question, though, is whether to opt for another wifi tablet or purchase one with integrated 4G!
It may seem a bit late for rumination on the state of the iPad since we are expecting a refresh of the entire line in a few hours, but a report yesterday from Localytics put it in perspective: the most used iPad today is the iPad 2. You know, the one released back in early 2011, over 2.5 YEARS ago!
Here on Gear Diary we often review new products and, sometimes directly and at other times indirectly, we offer recommendations. This time out, I’m turning to all of you for guidance and input: which laptop I should use on a series of upcoming trips. Here’s background on where things currently stand and what kind of input I am seeking.
While I reject the argument that anyone is FORCED into piracy by … well, anything – I do recognize that some people want to see the latest movie as soon as it comes available for home viewing. The problem is sometimes they cannot rent or buy that movie digitally, and as a result choose to pirate rather than not watch. A new site called PiracyData.org takes the latest Bittorrent data on the most pirated films, and matches that up with the availability information from Canistream.it – which is an awesome site to check movie availability in a single location, by…
The recently released film Gravity has become a modern-day classic as well as an informative presentation about space gear. From specially colored manuals to thruster packs that move astronauts from site to site in space, audiences get a real sense of the necessary gear used in space missions.
Twitter came under some fire this week for the lack of gender diversity on their board. Their CEO was defensive saying he wasn’t going to add women simply to increase diversity, implying there are no women qualified to sit on Twitter’s board. It isn’t just Twitter- this “no women are qualified” attitude spreads unfairly throughout Silicon Valley.
Apple hasn’t formally announced the iPad event widely expected to occur on October 22nd, but there is fair certainty Apple will release updated an iPad and iPad Mini in time for the holidays. After the ups and downs of the iPhone 5S/5C event, we thought it would be fun to look at what we hope, expect, and plan to buy.
Since I was old enough to understand the full story behind Christopher Columbus “discovering” America, I have wondered why a holiday was celebrated in his honor. The Oatmeal has succinctly shown why Columbus was not a man worthy of any nation’s remembrance, and in the process introduces Bartolomé, perhaps a more deserving candidate for clothing sales and bankers’ days off.
I like Fitbit clip-on trackers because they measure sleep, steps, floors climbed, and they integrate well with Android and iOS fitness apps. But after losing two to the washing machine, I’d given up and moved to more convenient bracelet-style trackers. As an early adopter of Fitbit’s Flex bracelet-style tracker, I feel cheated by today’s release of the Force. Here’s why.
News broke this week that a Tesla Model S caught fire after hitting a piece of debris on the highway. People buzzed about safety, and Elon Musk posted a letter explaining why the Model S is actually safer than most gas-powered vehicles. My reaction, however, wasn’t fear about Teslas – I was happy someone had a weirder “exploding car” story than me! Several years ago, I drove a 2000 Nissan Altima. It had been my grandmother’s, and since she barely drove it before I used it, it had the original battery. Fast forward several years and several thousand miles, and…
I like Windows Phone quite a bit, and am rooting for it to succeed as a viable third option in the mobile phone market. So I was quite excited to see that Microsoft and HTC still intend to work together, even with Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia. But the rumor of dual-boot Android/Windows Phone devices send a shiver down my spine. Yes, the latest rumor from Windows Phone Central is that HTC is investigating the feasibility of a dual-boot phone, which is intriguing, but I think will ultimately be very damaging to Windows Phone. There’s already a perception that developers are…