The popular Rosetta Stone® language learning modules now have game! The company has launched Rosetta Stone Arcade Academy where users can expand their Spanish linguistic skills through various games within a mobile application. Users can get the app (149 MB) on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad for free (as of October 2013).
Judie and I recently got pitched to cover the Grilled Cheesus. Yes, it is exactly what is sounds like — a grilled cheese gadget that makes “grilled cheese sandwiches easier and tastier — and more divine”. It is a real product that costs $39.95. We got to thinking, what would other faith-based grilled cheesers look like? Let’s take a look.
It’s not often that a press release can make my jaw drop (and my eyes go googly), but that’s exactly what happened when I opened the email from Calypso Crystal. Their new Furry Fury Collection has to include some of the most hideous examples of fashionista excess that I have ever seen. And the prices! Let’s look, shall we?
If you practice Yoga anywhere other than at home, then you’ll need a bag for carrying your mat, towel, water, and clothes. Hotdog Yoga’s Rollpack manages all that and more; its exclusive design “packs like a gym bag, hangs like a garment bag, and carries like a mat bag”. It’s already available in onyx, and amethyst is coming soon.
Way back in the summer of 2006, my mother took my boys to the Boston ‘10th Anniversary of Pokemon’ event. That Pokemon had sustained popularity that long was stunning, but now we’ve hit a new milestone as the latest games – Pokémon X and Y for Nintendo 3DS – sold more than 4 million copies on October 12th and 13th.
The 2013 edition of the Nexus 7 has been available for a couple of months; I recently decided to make the leap from a 10″ tablet to this 7″ beauty. While there isn’t a new name, I have to say Google has done a great job refining this popular tablet. For now, I believe it is the best Android tablet available.
Do you, like me, have boxes of old pictures and greeting cards that are just begging to move into the digital age? Thankfully Epson recently announced the solution.The Epson Perfection V550 Photo offers “superior quality scanning and the ability to upload scans directly to services like Facebook and Picasa”. Just $199.99.
When you think of the classics of adventure gaming, you think of LucasArts and Jane Jensen, of Maniac Mansion and Gabriel Knight. We have seen many LucasArts game brought back through TellTale Games, and now Jane Jensen herself has returned to revamp Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers for a 20th anniversary release in mid-2014.
Periods of back trouble can’t slow me down, so I’ve had times when all my writing was done while standing. Many actually feel more productive when working at a standing desk, and I cannot disagree. If you have ever considered using a standing desk, Ergotron’s new WorkFit Sit-Stand Workstations for Apple are worth a look. Check both out here.
While I was unable to successfully ‘go all in’, my family absolutely loves the Samsung 11.6″ Chromebook. It is perfect for writing reports, doing email, Facebooking, and web research; it has been in constant daily use since I got it. Now Google has announced the next version of their budget laptop – the $279 HP Chromebook 11.
I’m so picky about my backpacks, that for the longest I didn’t carry one. I had finally found one I liked well enough, but it’s not the one. I had just about admitted defeat and given up on backpacks, but now there’s no need. Say hello to the Staad, Waterfield’s perfect backpack available in two sizes and multiple color combinations.
In 2005 Susan Bennett went to Apple to record some audio of her saying some words that iOS users know really well. Yes Susan Bennett is the voice of Siri. Susan did not know that she was recording Siri’s voice at the time and imagine her amazement when her friends asked her if it was her. In the story, we also find out that she was also the voice of an ATM called “Tillie” and she’s also done voices for Delta Airlines as well. What other voices do you hear that she may have done?
iPads are cropping up everywhere, from homes to work and even in school settings. But can an iPad truly be secured to the satisfaction of a conscientious IT department? One expert says no, and a high-profile example may prove him correct. The city of Los Angeles has been planning to roll out iPads to their students, but it backfired slightly for them this past week. They initially rolled out the iPads with web restrictions, and within a few days many of the schools realized they underestimated the ability of children to circumvent technological roadblocks. All the students had to do…
My iPhone photo library is a random mix of pictures for work, home, Gear Diary and so on. When I am showing things to colleagues, I really don’t need to skip past silly pictures of my kids dressed up for ‘Spirit Week’ or a screenshot from the latest G5 game. Enter PhotoPresenter, keeping me in charge of what others see. Here is the idea behind the app: “Bastian, our video guru, recently hosted a Boinx workshop. During his presentation, he decided to put together a slideshow that showcased people using Boinx’s iStopMotion. All of the media was located on his…
We can debate whether it’s a good idea to base a decision about driving on a smartphone app and accessory, it’s better than just saying ‘I feel fine’ and getting behind the wheel. Breathometer is a device that plugs into your smartphone and measures your blood alcohol concentration quickly and easily. And the product will be on Shark Tank 9/27! Here is the description: Small enough to fit on a key chain, Breathometer, which is officially registered with the FDA, plugs into a smartphone audio jack, and together with a mobile app, transforms it into a sleek, portable and accurate…
We get so used to Apple introducing products with over-the-top hype and fanfare, so it is always a refreshing surprise when we discover that Apple has … um, refreshed one of its product lines. Yesterday Apple released an update to the iMac line, with upgraded processors, new graphics, next generation Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage options. Faster Processors: the new 4th generation Haswell Intel Core processors are faster with lower power consumption. The standard configurations offer quad-core i5 processors, but optional builds include quad-core i7, which allows hyper-threading for 8 virtual cores. Updated Graphics: even at the bottom end…
To date, I am aware of only one dock for Android and that was the Sonr Symphony. I reviewed an early version of the dock here on Gear Diary. Hale Devices is Joe Born’s new name for Sonr Labs, and the Hale Dreamer picks up where the Symphony left off. Today they are kickstarting the Hale Dreamer Alarm Dock on Kickstarter. The Hale Dreamer combines both a physical dock with software to help control the phone while it’s in the dock. The software enables the hardware features of the dock like a real snooze button and more. It also includes…
IndieGameStand launched as a pay-what-you-want site that featured a new, hand-picked indie game every 96 hours. It remains a great concept, but today the site is expanding to feature a permanent store designed to make it simpler for indie developers to sell games without the hassles of other sites. Now developers can sell games directly and keep more money. To celebrate, the store is putting 14 indie games on sale through October 1, marked down 15% or more. You can read up on those games and the reasons IGS selected them for the launch sale here. The new site will…
Along with the new Kindle Fire HD and HDX models, Amazon introduced a few other interesting items. These include a new Kindle Fire OS, Offline Streaming of Amazon Prime videos, and an always-ready video help system called ‘Mayday’. With these value-added features Amazon hopes to distinguish itself and move beyond just being an Apple alternative by taking a leadership role. Amazon OS 3.0 ‘Mojito’ Amazon announced ‘Mojito’, Kindle Fire OS 3.0. The new OS brings native Android App compatibility, HTML5 app support, in-app purchase support and more. One of the biggest features is the new ‘Mayday Button’, which I’ll explore…
Overnight, we got word from Amazon that they were releasing a new line-up of Kindle Fire models. The current 7″ HD becomes the low-end, and they fill out the high-end with new quad-core based 7″ and 8.9″ HDX models. This is huge news in terms of features and pricing, but also a clear distinction between Amazon and Apple. The two Kindle Fire HDX models are packed with loads of updates including new productivity apps for email and calendar, new X-Ray for Music, and ‘Second Screen’ which let’s you send contents to a smart TV or Playstation 3/4. You will also…
Saying Microsoft’s Surface failed to penetrate the market barely scratches the surface – the software giant took a $900 write-down on crappy sales. Now Microsoft has announced the second generation of Surface tablets, largely focused on improving the specs of the tablets with similar pricing as previous units. But the big surprise was the music-centric Surface Music Kit. Let’s take a look at the Surface Music Kit before quickly discussing the new Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2. Microsoft Surface Music Kit Everyone knew that the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 were coming … the big surprise was the…