Gear Bits

Hostess Bakeries Planning to Close – When Was YOUR Last Twinkee?

Today we heard about the filing by Hostess Bakeries for ‘wind down’, meaning that they are seeking to close operations. The sad news will reportedly impact some 18,000 workers across 36 plants. Hostess has spent all of 2012 in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection working to reorganize operations to find a way to stay afloat. Unfortunately, according to the Wall Street Journal, this year has seen commodity costs rise and demand for products decline. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the major union for the company declared a work stoppage last week that shut down the majority of operations. This sort…

Gear Bits, Music Diary

“Ask a Network Head” Answers Why MTV No Longer Plays Music Videos (Parody, NFSW-Language)

It is a common mantra, the irony of MTV standing for MUSIC television despite no longer being a music video (or even music-oriented) network. In this mock-Q&A session the basic question is answered “Why Doesn’t MTV Play Videos Any More?” Check it out, but be warned there are some NSFW-ish elements:

Gear Bits

Microsoft Surface 2012 Sales Set to Disappoint, According to Reports

Last week Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated that initial sales of the Surface tablet have been ‘modest’, though Microsoft quickly spun that to be about other stuff such as their approach and so on and focused more on the ‘Pro’ version. At the same time, just after the initial release of the Surface complaints started coming in about build quality and fraying of the cover material and other issues. Further clarifications have shown that what Ballmer said was simply poorly worded and really was about their approach … but for many the image of ‘modest sales’ remains. This, along with…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness

Virtual Runner iPad App Lets You Experience Great Race Locations From Your Treadmill!

While I have not been so thrilled at the number of sub-freezing morning runs these past couple of weeks, and I have truly relished the couple of warm shorts & t-shirt runs these past couple of days … I cannot ever see myself exercising inside again, unless injury or extreme weather demanded it. But for many, including a good friend at work for whom joint issues derailed her running habit, each morning includes some time on the treadmill. Now imagine that instead of watching CNN or reading a book, your treadmill time could include heading up Heartbreak Hill on the…

Gear Bits

Samsung Ships More Galaxy SIII Phones in Q3 Than Apple Sells of the iPhone 4S

Yes, I am going upfront to call out the distinction that Samsung and Apple use different terminologies that reflect their distinct focus – Samsung is a handset supplier as just part of their massive and diverse business, Apple has the iPhone and iOS ecosystem at the core of their entire operation. So when Samsung talks about ‘sales’ it is really ‘shipments’ – how many have left their factory; for Apple sold means sold. This week we heard about how Samsung shipped more Galaxy S3 units than Apple did iPhone 4S in Q3. Three things to get out of the way:…

Gear Bits, Music Diary

Check Out an Entire ‘Jazz Goes to College’ Episode from the Stan Getz Quartet

Jazz Goes to College was the name of a Dave Brubeck album based on music played at various colleges, but was later a BBC series that apparently brought in jazz artists for full sets in a live setting. I was checking out an audio-only concert of Gary Burton from 1976 when I saw a link to this 1966 set and had to check it out. When I looked into the video I couldn’t find much on the series (even the BBC site lists only this episode!), but over at JazzOnline they had more info and even some context from Gary…

Gear Bits

No Voice or Text Overages for Hurricane Sandy Victims on Verizon Wireless

One of the side effects of hurricane Sandy here in New Jersey were widespread power outages. As a result, phone lines that ran through cable went offline, people didn’t have easy access to Facebook or email, and even voice calls over cell phones became very spotty. The only quasi-reliable way to get a message to family and friends was texting. This led to a problem: people with capped text and voice plans were getting nastygrams from their cell companies informing them they were close to or over their limits. Not a great situation to be in when you have no…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Check Out the Intense Trailer for World War Z!

Have you read Max Brooks’ excellent ‘point of view’ zombie book ‘World War Z:An Oral History of the Zombie War’? If so then perhaps you – like me – have been concerned that the movie version would be a mediocre ‘reimagining’ sort of like the butchering of Asimov’s ‘I, Robot’. But based on the new trailer, it looks like the way that the book has been adapted will bring much of what made it good to the screen, but in a way that serves the need for a hero-based narrative. Plus, the zombie hordes look thrilling! Here is the plot…

Gear Bits, Yum Log

Wine Caddys from H & K Steel Sculptures: Protect Your Bottle!

Maybe the only possible thing wrong with a bottle of good wine is that it comes in a breakable container. It is so sad to watch a grown man (me) cry when a bottle accidentally gets knocked off the counter and hits the floor with a crash. Not to mention the mess that broken glass and red wine can make on a floor. We used to joke that if you ever dropped a glass in my family’s kitchen that everyone would be banned from that room for a month by my mom and her fear of slivers in our slippers….

Gear Bits, Music Diary

Forbes Lists the 6 Top Earning Dead Musicians

There is an old maxim about an artist suddenly becoming much more wealthy and famous after death, which has been turned into countless ‘movie of the week’ plots about faked deaths and so on. The reality is the more often than not – famous people remain famous for some time, and unknowns tend to stay that way as well. But there is still considerable interest in those artists who continue to generate loads of revenue for years and even decades after their deaths. Last week Forbes rounded up 6 artists who made more than $5 million in the last year,…

Gear Bits, Music Diary

IK Multimedia Opens New High-Tech Facility in Italy

The business model for a low-cost product maker seems fairly established: have some in-house designers, an intermediary group in Asia to work with a prototyping partner, and a contract manufacturer in Asia to handle mass production once the design is finalized. But in the last couple of years more companies and countries have sought to bring more manufacturing back to their home nations. There are a number of reasons for doing this, from speed of innovation, information control (i.e. leaks), and the fact that more and more companies are finding ways to develop a cost-competitive infrastructure. But it remains mostly…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Has iOS 6 (and 6.0.1) Wrecked Your WiFi Connectivity? These Steps Might Help

One of the big issues I noticed immediately with iOS 6 and particularly with the iPad Mini was maintaining connectivity to WiFi at home and at work. The basic issue is this – when the iPad sleeps the WiFi turns off (to maintain better battery life), but it happens very quickly and doesn’t automatically re-connect. My first inkling of an issue was that during my ‘iPad Only’ quest I have been consuming data MUCH faster than before, but not really doing more ‘data heavy’ stuff on a cellular connection. At home I am always on WiFi and at work I…

Gear Bits

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…

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…

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…

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…

Gear Bits

How Bodyguardz Saved My iPhone 5

Ugh! So aggravating! I took my iPhone out of its case while traveling (I know, I know) because it was so bulky. At least I had purchased and installed a Bodyguardz skin on my phone last week; because of that, my iPhone 5 survived a horrific flying drop and slide at the airport. The only damage is my slightly smooshed upper right corner, which is way way better than the cracked screen I expected to see when I picked the phone up from the hard tile floor. If (like me) you prefer to not have a case on your device…

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